People often expect to be laser-focused, because leaders see distraction as a negative thing. The modern world is becoming digital day by day and more interconnected than ever before, for example, emails, tweets, notifications, and news alerts.
Pandemic played a significant role in inventing more digital tools to stay connected.
During these unfocused times, we try to accomplish more by staying focused. Don’t get me wrong; I am a huge fan of deep work, which is important to boost productivity.
I’m referring to the fact that you will become distracted regardless of what you do. Instead of being overwhelmed, we will discover a few strategies to use distraction as a tool to increase positivity in our lives.
In this article, I will unfold a couple of smart ways to make the most out of your distracted life. This will help you recover quickly from distractions or use them while getting distracted.
Take a long walk (a short hike will do the magic)
I am an avid hiker and consider myself highly productive when I don’t waste time and also accomplish much more in less time.
However, I can easily be distracted; I use the distracting time to go for a long walk in the forest. Luckily, I live close to the trails on a hill station.
Many studies show that hiking is super beneficial for brain health. Research also shows that unsurfaced paths are great for brain health; they help to burn more calories and increase your creativity.
Walking on unsurfaced paths is better than walking on plain, confined paths. I always prefer to go on a hike short/long, depending on the time availability.
Next time you’re getting distracted, don’t try to refocus, instead go for a long walk, hike, or even run to bring back more creative ideas to complete the task.
What do you think about taking a long shower?
Before I jump on the benefits, this is one of the secrets of Elon Musk to jump under a long shower to be more creative.
I take long showers for two main reasons: basic hygiene, of course, and getting more ideas. Research shows that warm isolation, like a warm shower, helps produce dopamine, which is a significant part of human capability to plan and think. That will help us to focus, strive, and explore more exciting things.
Thinking brain
Studies show that when you focus for a long time, your brain energy starts depleting, and in the long spam, you will be more unproductive if you don’t take a break. I am sure there are plenty of ways to recharge your brain energy.
When you stay focused for long hours, your brain simply drained all of the energy, and you lose the power to think clearly, and/or you don’t give a damn about someone else around you.
How do I recharge the brain energy to stay productive?
This is one of the best ways to recharge your energy level. When you are working for long hours, consider taking a power nap rather than keep pushing, wasting your time, and being unproductive.
You can see many gurus share that 10, 11, or 15 minutes of power to replenish the energy level. I would say everyone is different; experiment and find how long you need to recharge your energy level.
I normally set the timer on Alexa/Siri (iPhone) for 20 minutes and close my eyes; after that, I am a different person with more energy and attention. Find your sweet spot, but don’t go more than 25 minutes.
Doodling for creativity and concentration
I do recall how I got the ideas for some of my books. Many of them are a result of doodling. — Bill Peet
We all know that doodling is an art that can be done while doing almost anything.
It is the best way to express how your subconscious mind thinks.
I am not good at drawing, but hey, it helps me to draw some basic art, and while drawing poorly, sometimes, I get new ideas.
Doodling is a great way to process emotions and get back in a more focused state of mind. Even if you are not the next Leonardo DaVinci, doodling will help you to boost your mood, focus, and mental health.
Drawbacks of focus
People think that focusing seems to be an appropriate strategy when our minds are directionless. For example, when I started to work home amid a pandemic, I bought the Noise-cancelling headphones (worst decision of my life, story for another time — tinnitus), to-do lists, and meeting notifications to boost my home office productivity.
However, closing the door 100% to the outside world or having a one-track mentality might interfere with productivity and invention.
For example, I have a hard time coming up with new content ideas if I don’t go for a run, spend time with family, go hiking, etc. These things help me create new neural paths to bring more ideas to life.
Short-sighted decision-making skill problem
When someone is short-sighted about something or has short-sighted notions, they do not make proper or thoughtful judgments regarding the future.
In business and personal life, it’s important to make reasonable predictions based on the immediate future.
If you are constantly working without taking breaks, your brainpower is already depleting; you may face a hard time making small decisions. There is a high probability that you may miss the trends and make a bad decision because of your tired brain.
Hyperfocus can cause these issues in the long term, but the best part is by getting distracted, you can easily recharge the power to make impactful decisions. Unfocus/distracted brain will help you get away from all the traps of life.
Identify your lifestyle
Identify times of the day when your energy is low. For example, you may feel more depleted mid-morning, after lunch, mid-afternoon, and at the end of your day.
Then, build in one or more unfocused activities during 10–30 minute periods. You may, for example, nap for 20 minutes at 1 pm, go for a long walk after lunch, and doodle when you are bored.
You might be thinking it’s a waste of time, but in reality, you are refocusing and recharging your brainpower.
You can use this simple online free tool, Pomofocus, to boost productivity. I use it in 50 minutes intervals, then 10 minutes break. After working 3–4 hours; I take a 30 minutes break which could mean to take shower, nap, music, or walking outside.
The bottom line
I don’t argue that concentration isn’t important. When I work, I love to work in a highly concentrated environment. Yet, distractions play a critical part in keeping me energized and helping me recharge my energy, and boosting creativity.
Don’t think of distraction as a negative sign to work; instead, use it to your advantage to become more creative.
You may start introducing any distraction into your life, such as hiking, long walks, doodling, napping, taking long showers, and so on.
