Have you ever found yourself checking one message on your DM , and you only planned to look at only that one message , then 1 hour later you are still hooked on your phone ? Yes , we are all victims of this ! What this means is that we have used our time that was meant to accomplish a task to ‘ idle ’ on our phones .
Think of the nights you have started streaming a series on Netflix , and you promised yourself to only watch 1 episode … then boom 4 or 5 hours later … you are on episode 8 ! When one episode ends you keep telling yourself , ‘ one more episode … One more episode ’ sounds familiar right ?
For this example , we have used our sleeping time to watch more episodes than we had earlier planned consequently losing sleep . Losing sleep means that you are less productive the next day and all your plans made for the next day will be affected in one way or another . Thanks to content !
Unfortunately , for every time we are distracted , there is a cause-and-effect ripple impact that never seems to end and the cycle continues .
The examples above show a snippet of our day to day lives and this is the reality that all of us face . In as much as all content is justifiable , it does not mean that all content is meant for us . We need to know ourselves so well to identify our triggers and need to consume the kind of content we are exposed to . The ripple effect leads to costly distraction and subsequent procrastination of key tasks .
Below is one tip that can help us focus better while choosing content that works for us one moment at time .
According to Nir Eyal , the Author of Indistractable : How to Control Your Attention and Choose Your Life during his master class at Mind Valley talks about the ‘ 10 Min Rule technique ’, every time you are working on an intense project , something that requires a lot of concentration , and your mind in distracted to either respond to a notification or just a pop up on your laptop … the first thing you need to do is to arrest that moment and notice that you are being distracted .
Then set up timer on your phone to 10 min and wait it out . You can either get back to your work , or do what psychologists call surf the urge . Our Emotional internal needs that cause distraction are like waves , they crest and then they subside . If we can ponder over the waves or triggers that cause distraction in those 10 minutes and try to re-focus on the importance of what we are doing , then before the clock runs out , the wave / trigger will pass . However , if the urge does not go away , then you give into it .
Ultimately , if we are able to master our internal triggers to distraction , then 10 min rule becomes 15 , then 20min … and this is a key step in improving our focus , choosing content that is effective at a particular time and becoming less distracted . Try it out !!
Susan Atieno is an Account Director at Havas Media Kenya and a seasoned marketing and communication strategist . You can reach her via email at : Suezanatieno @ gmail . com .
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