Avoid Distractions With These 3 Tips
3 tips to reduce distractions while working online.
We’ve all been there, you are working on a project and see an article, post, or some other form of content that catches your eye, and you think, I have to check this out. And what should have been a quick read turns into a full-on research and discovery project.
Then after reading the article, you start to research and investigate the ideas and topics presented to you. If this sounds like you, don’t worry; you are not alone.
I cannot count the number of times I have done this! I usually justify this behavior by telling myself it’s ok because I will use the information later — but really, I never do. The internet so has many incredible things to look into, and it’s easy to fall into this trap.
Luckily, there are ways to limit distractions when you need to focus and save your exciting content for later.
If going down the rabbit hole has helped you and you disagree with what I am saying, no worries! We are all different and you should always do what works best for you.
- Add Articles to a Read Later Document.
By simply saving the link to a read later document, you have already helped yourself out tremendously! You can come back to the content at a later time and can close the link tab.
Closing the tab removes the temptation of clicking the link when moving around the browser.
I have found that this method has increased my productivity and helped me cut out content in my life. What may seem like a fascinating article one moment may not be as attractive when you have free time to look into it.
2. Avoid Social Media During Your Productive Hours
Social media is addictive and designed to suck you in.
That being said, I think there is a time and place for it. I like to take a few breaks during my day and jump on Twitter, limiting my use time to about 10min. I believe this method has helped me develop a healthier relationship with the app. This method isn’t just limited to Twitter; you can use it with whatever social app is your poison.
If I see a tweet thread that speaks to me and feel I need to look into it more, I will add it to my read later document — are you starting to see the power of this thing?
3. Organize and Plan Your Day
Most of us were taught at a young age the power of planning out our day out, but somewhere along the lines, we just stopped doing that. Adding this process back to your morning can help curb distractions.
Planning your day out allows you to think through and get a high-level overview of what you need to do to be productive today. Knowing what you have to get done helps you combat distractions when they come up.
These 3 tips have greatly helped me decrease distractions while working online. By simply placing your distractions in a read later list, reducing your social media time, and planning out your day, you will significantly improve how much you get done during a day and possibly reduce the stress that comes from procrastination.
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