How to Eliminate Distraction — Kate Greenslade

Distraction isn’t just about losing a few minutes here and there. It’s a really damaging issue that can derail entire days and halt our progress.

Distractions come in various forms, from the constant smartphone pings to the endless scroll of social media and the bombardment of emails. Each element fights for our attention, pulling us away from tasks that require focus and depth.

So what do we need to eliminate distraction? How can we combat its constant influence in our life?

Here are some different ways to think about it and practical tools to try….

1. Intention

Before tackling distraction it’s important to get clear on your intention. Why do you want to manage distraction better? If you rated how much distraction affects your daily life on a scale of 1 to 10 what would you say?

Maybe there are some areas that you are more distracted by than others? Or certain times of the day when you find yourself more susceptible to distraction?

Ask yourself what about being distracted frustrates you or causes problems. Is it the way it hinders your work? Or perhaps how it affects your relationships or personal growth?

Increasing your awareness about this will help you gauge the impact it’s having and help to motivate you to change what you need to so you can beat it. 

2. Mindset

Your mindset here is vital. To help fend off distractions it’s helpful to connect to your core intentions and really understand why the task/s at hand are important to you. Why do you NOT want to be distracted?

Believing that you can overcome distractions will go a long way in making it a non negotiable element of your working day.

A proactive mindset will strengthen your ability to find and use tools and techniques that help you to focus and be organised.

Create clear boundaries around your work to protect your time and energy too. Your two most important commodities. This has been one of the most useful (and difficult at times) practices I’ve upheld for the past few years.

And take 100% ownership over your distractions, rather than seeing yourself as a victim of them. You are the CEO of your attention and time.

3. Environment

Your surroundings play a key part in how easily you can be distracted.

Check that your workspace is conducive to concentration. This could mean placing your phone in another room or turning off notifications. Here’s some research showing that even the presence of a phone in your peripheral vision can be a significant distraction. I notice this for sure, so I have to put it behind me when I’m working.

Check if there are any background noises, like music, the radio or TV. While these can feel comforting as a backdrop, they can also split your attention.

Temperature, hydration, and nutrition also play a role in how focused you can remain. Keeping water on your desk or having some healthy snacks to hand can prevent unnecessary breaks that might lead to distractions.

And organising your desk to minimise clutter helps to keep your mind on what you’re doing by creating a manageable and organised space.

4. Practical Tools to Combat Distraction

Try these simple techniques to see which ones work best for you. We’re all different so it’s important to try them out to find the right ones for your way of working.

Brain breaks

Jim Kwik, one of the top brain performance experts, recommends having frequent brain breaks throughout the day. These short pauses are used to step away from cognitive tasks and allow your mind to reset, similar to rebooting a computer. During these breaks, he suggests stretching, walking, or meditating. This helps maintain a high level of performance and focus when you return to your tasks.

The Pomodoro Technique

This involves working in focused slots of 25 minutes followed by a 5 minute break. After four “pomodoros,” (25 min slots) take a longer break of 30 minutes. This rhythm helps maintain high levels of focus while preventing burnout. I love it and use it quite a lot. We use a version of this in our co-working sessions on Zoom and it always gets great feedback.

Time Blocking

Allocate specific blocks of time in your calendar for different activities. This helps to create a routine and also helps you to mentally preparing for the task, so that you’re focused on that rather than thinking about 3 other things on your to do list. This works well because when you do get in ‘the flow’ work can feel easy and you can get a lot done.

Mind Mapping

If you organise your thoughts and priorities before you start a task, it helps you to visualise what you need to do and helps your brain by giving it a map to follow. I find this really helpful and I often find myself grabbing a piece of A4 and some coloured pens to play with this technique. It really helps me to see it more clearly.

Single Tasking

Focus on one task at a time. This might seem counterintuitive but as we know, multitasking doesn’t exist. When you’re fully engaged with the task at hand it will often reduce the time it takes for you to finish it. And you’ll likely do better work too. I notice this for sure. It’s a practice of mine that when I feel the opposite happening and I’m flip flopping all over the place with my work, that I step back, go and get some tea and take a break before restarting.

Digital Minimalism

Doing a digital health check every so often is very supportive if you want to reduce distraction. Remove apps you don’t use or that are taking up too much of your time for little reward. Mute all notifications and even allocate specific time to when you’re going to check your email or reply to texts. It’s amazing how much time this frees up. One of my new rules is to only check emails from 10:00 – 12:00 Monday – Friday. It’s actually been a lot harder than I thought but I’m keeping it as my intention and doing my best.