There’s enough time in each day to learn more than you’ll ever need to in life – it’s just that we are used to filling up our hours with meaningless busy work and distractions.
I know you said you’d spend less time on Instagram/TikTok/Reddit/Snapchat/YouTube before. We’ve all done it and we’ve all cut them out and then gone back. I’m not going to shame you for it – I’ve done it too.
I know it hasn’t worked. If it had you wouldn’t be reading some random dude’s blog.
But you’re not doing anything wrong. The only mistake you’re making is what your work environment is like. Let me explain…
Breaking down how we get distracted
Hard work requires breaks; we all know that. What we don’t know is that breaks can come in two forms: voluntary and involuntary.
Voluntary break: knowing the scheduled time to take a break and when to get back to work. (See Pomodoro Technique)
Involuntary break: getting bored, picking up your phone, getting lost on social media and losing track of time. (See your app use tracker Android, iPhone)
Take a moment and think about which one you do more often… if you tend to take voluntary breaks then congrats, close this tab and move on!
If you fall into the later category, like most sane humans, then I have some good news for you! We can hack this process pretty easily by identifying “bad” distractions and replacing them with “good” ones.
Your brains flowchart looks like this. If you make one tough decision to remove bad options you cannot choose bad distractions later on.
There’s an old saying for loosing weight: “you win the battle in the grocery store.”
You make it easy on yourself to win the long term battle with short term decisions. If you can manage to put yourself in an environment that promotes healthy/productive decision making you are more likely to avoid options that undermine yourself.
It’s so much easier to not eat potato chips if you don’t have any – and the same goes for time wasters.
Soon, your workflow will look a lot more like this…
This is what it looks like when your “distractions” keep your momentum flowing and reinvigorate you at the same time. You never feel the need to run away from your work.
Bad distractions: endless, prone to rabbit holes, and/or fulfill very basic desires.
I’m willing to bet the first thing you do when you want to get away from work is pick up your phone and opening your favorite endlessly scrolling dopamine loop that you’ll never want to put down. Or food… Always food.
If you spend your days surrounded by pointless distractions you will be spend time on pointless distractions.
Friends nearby? You will go talk to them.
Phone sitting by your side? You will use social media.
YouTube tabs open? You will watch videos.
- Put your phone on silent and out of sight. Use app restriction apps like Stay Focused to limit app usage and notifications during specified work times. [I keep all social media notifications off from 6am-5pm on weekdays]
- Don’t work near friends who distract you.
- Don’t keep social media tabs open on your work browser.
Good distractions: easily defined end, enjoyable in small doses, and quick to access and put away.
The common mistake most people make is thinking that they will get more work done if stuck into an empty cell with only the work they need in front of them.
In my experience we make the most progress when put in a naturally enriching environment.
You know the saying “you are the average of the five people you spend the most time with“?
I believe something similar. You are the product of the environment you spend the most time in.
We want to turns downtime for one project into progress for another so that we can maintain momentum.
If you spend your days surrounded by tools of progress you will make progress. When you’re in the zone, when you’re experiencing a flow state, the only thing you’ll want to do is keep going! (In one way or another…)
Find hobbies you’ve always wanted to spend more time on and surround yourself with them.
Surrounded by books? You will read.
Surrounded by instruments? You will play.
Surrounded by productive people? You’ll be more productive.
Action Items:
Let’s reiterate…
REMOVE:
Identify what you tend to distract yourself that are endless, prone to rabbit holes, fulfill very basic desires AND REMOVE THEM FROM YOUR WORKZONE.
- Put your phone on silent and out of sight. Use app restriction apps like Stay Focused to limit app usage and notifications during specified work times. [I keep all social media notifications off from 6am-5pm on weekdays]
- Don’t work near friends who distract you.
- Don’t keep social media tabs open on your work browser.
REPLACE:
Identify hobbies, passion projects, and activities that have an easily defined end, enjoyable in small doses, and are quick to access and put away.
Yours might be different than mine but here are some examples you can steal. Know what works for you and what you can trust yourself with!
| Distraction | Planning |
| Reading | Keep a book or two by your side. Read a set amount of pages or paragraphs. |
| Music | Keep instruments around. Practice a song, verse, or chords. |
| Art | Keep a sketchbook around. Practice a sketch, anatomy, shapes, or working in 3D space. |
| Exercise | Keep some equipment around. Do some stretches, calisthenics, or throw a little weight around. |