The Ultimate Guide to Overcoming Distraction: (Infographic and Quiz)
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Just when you gather your energy to do something productive, you find yourself flooded with different types of distractions.
Ideas and thoughts that pop up in your head from nowhere may cause you to start daydreaming about the future or dwelling on your past failures.
Other times, you are faced with an irresistible urge to check your Facebook feed, your emails, or take a look at your friend’s Instagram story.
That’s when you interrupt your activity to start engaging in unproductive and futile tasks.
Procrastination and distractions go hand in hand, and getting rid of distractions is one of the best ways to fight procrastination and build productive habits.
In this article, we will tackle the different types of distractions and how to deal with each type. I’ll provide some examples of distractions and how to spot the signs.
You’ll also have an assessment quiz to find out your main distraction, along with tailored solutions for you.
Table of Contents
What Is a Distraction?
A distraction is something that prevents you from giving your full attention to a task or an activity you’re performing. It diverts your attention from important things in life.
Distraction can be caused by a number of factors, such as mind wandering, thoughts that pop up in your head, ambient noises, an email notification, a colleague starting a conversation, etc.
The list of distracting factors is virtually endless, and with communication technologies and the stressful lifestyle of modern society, the list of distractions just keeps expanding.
An Example of Distractions
There are an unlimited number of examples of distractions in life, but let’s pick up one very common scenario: distractions among students.
In one scenario, you are a college student studying for an exam. As soon as you start your revision, thoughts start popping in your head, like, “I think I need to make a phone call to my friend”, or, “I need to get some ice cream; I am starving”.
You manage to let go of these thoughts and muster your focus, but then you are faced with the urge to check your Instagram feed or maybe your WhatsApp texts. So, you go over to your phone and start scrolling; 5 minutes pass.
But you are determined to study today, so you put your phone away and dive into your school book. A few minutes later, you feel hungry and need a snack. You go to the fridge and pick up a random thing to eat.
But on your way back to your room, your mother yells at you to pick up the trash … and while picking up the trash, you receive a text from your buddy telling you: “What’s the plan for tonight”.
So, your studying session transforms into a series of activities that are totally unrelated to your goals.
That’s called distraction.
☸ The Science of Distraction: Distraction and Procrastination
There is strong scientific evidence that different types of distractions cause people to take longer to complete a task and can also affect the overall quality of work.
There is also evidence that distraction and procrastination are closely linked.
A 2018 study found that procrastinators are particularly vulnerable to distractions by other fun activities, especially when working under unstructured conditions in an environment where temptations are present.
Furthermore, multiple studies have shown that distraction by peers (in-person distraction) can be a source of academic procrastination among students.
Types of Distractions
Although causes of distraction are numerous and can come in different shapes and forms, they can be categorized into two major types: internal and external distractions.
I. Internal Distractions
Internal distractions come from within. These are the thoughts, emotions, ideas, daydreams, etc.
Internal distractions can be divided into three sub-types.
1. Intrusive Thoughts
This is the most common distraction sub-type. Intrusive thoughts can be negative thoughts “I am going to fail”, positive thoughts “I am going to buy an ice-cream right now”, neutral thoughts “I wonder what my boyfriend is doing now!”, “I am hungry”.
These thoughts can also take the form of mental images and daydreams (visualizing yourself at the beach).
Although people typically have more than 6,000 thoughts per day, some of these can become repetitive and obsessive and cause serious disruptions in your daily life.
Example: You are a student and you start an assignment, but different thoughts keep popping into your head; you start ruminating on an incident or blaming yourself for something that happened. This causes you to lose focus on your assignment and become absorbed in your thoughts.
2. Intrusive Emotions
These can be positive emotions such as joy or excitement or negative emotions such as worry, anxiety, boredom, or sadness.
When you are performing a task, you may be flooded by feelings of anxiety about not being good enough or sadness about your cat that died a year ago.
You may also feel excitement about meeting friends for dinner later or hanging out with your boyfriend tomorrow night.
All these emotions can distract you from the task at hand and make you more prone to procrastinating on important activities.
Example: You are working on a company project, and while writing down the project plan, you are suddenly overwhelmed by emotions of sadness and grief about the loss of your father the year before. So, you keep dwelling on these emotions, and you lose focus and motivation to finish your task.
3. Hybrid distractions
These distractions arise from the interaction of your mental and physical states and may include low energy, fatigue, an inability to focus, pain, body sensations, hunger, etc.
Some people are more sensitive to their internal state; they overly monitor their energy level, mood, motivation, and internal dialogue. This excessive self-monitoring can be distracting and exhausting at the same time.
Example: You are writing an essay, but you are feeling hungry and want something sweet; So, you interrupt your writing and go looking for a chocolate bar to satisfy your appetite.
Important Note
Please bear in mind that all these internal factors interact with each other in a continuous and complex way. For instance, if an intrusive thought pops up “I will certainly fail my exams”, it may provoke intrusive emotions, such as stress and hopelessness, which in turn cause your body to react negatively and your energy level to drop (hybrid distraction).
How to Overcome Internal Distractions ?
Although internal distractions can be difficult to control, especially compared to external distractions, you can take some steps to overcome or limit these types of distractions.
1. Deal with The Elephant in The Room: Your Mental Health.
Internal distractions can sometimes be a sign of a mental disorder, such as anxiety, depression, ADHD, OCD etc.
- Obsessive, repetitive thoughts can be a sign of OCD.
- Excessive rumination and persistent negative thoughts can be signs of Depression.
- Inability to focus can be a sign of ADHD.
- Excessive worry about things can be a sign of Generalized Anxiety Disorder.
So, in order to overcome these distractions, it is important to understand whether they are normal distractions that occur in most people or signs of a mental health problem.
So, if your internal distractions become excessive and debilitating and are preventing you from leading a healthy and happy life, you may need to address your concern with a professional and seek professional health.
Online reliable resources are also available, such as Psychcentral and Mayoclinic, if you would like to understand more about your mental health.
If you are not keen on seeing a psychologist in-person, you can still address your issues with an online licensed therapist, which can be as effective as an in-person consultation. TalkSpace is an excellent resource that offers online sessions with licensed therapists and counselors.
2. Practice Mindful Meditation:
Mindful meditation can have incredible effects on your mental health and can help calm down your mental rollercoaster and tame your internal dialogue.
The main goal of mindful meditation is to achieve a state of mental alertness by focusing on something (e.g., your breathing) and accepting your thoughts and emotions without judgment.
Meditation trains your brain to be focused and to allow thoughts to pass without obsessing or ruminating over them.
Research has shown that meditation has multiple benefits for mood and stress, can enhance attention and focus, and decrease intrusive thoughts.
Studies have also found that meditation improves parts of the brain associated with daydreaming and distraction. Meditation is associated with reduced distractibility in day-to-day activities.
You can practice meditation at home by yourself by focusing on your breathing for 10 to 30 minutes a day. You can also use some free yet highly effective apps, like Headspace, that can guide you through the process of mindful meditation.
Check out this more detailed article on meditation and procrastination.
3. Establish a Problem-Solving Ritual:
I can’t give enough credit to this technique and how life-changing it can be, not only in eliminating internal distractions, but also in making your day-to-day easier and less stressful.
This three-step ritual is very simple yet extremely powerful.
Step 1: Create a “Problem-Solving List”, preferably on your phone, in a notebook, on a computer, etc. It should be available at all times, so I highly suggest a notebook app.
Step 2: During the day, ideas, thoughts, emotions, problems, and mental images will pop into your head, trying to distract you. You should calmly write them down in your notebook, and promise that you’ll get back to them during your “Problem-Solving Time”.
Now get back to your activity.
Step 3: Establish a regular problem-solving schedule. Time, which is a set time when you go over your list, one by one, and deal with them by brainstorming solutions if needed.
It is crucial to maintain this ritual on a daily basis. You will be amazed at how much easier and more effective it gets with time, as your brain will trust your ability to deal with intrusive thoughts and problems, and you’ll regain control over your internal dialogue.
Try this simulation to get an idea of the process.
II. External Distractions
External distractions originate outside of you, mainly from your immediate environment.
These external distractions consist mainly of the three following sub-types: Digital Distractions, Environmental Distractions and In-Person Distractions.
1. Digital Distractions
This sub-type includes distractions caused by electronic devices, such as desktops, laptops, tablets, and smartphones, and consist of internet browsing, social media scrolling, email checking, etc.
This is probably one of the most common types of distraction in the modern era. This digital overload can take a toll on your ability to focus and can be a major contributor to procrastination, particularly among young people.
Research suggests that overusing digital devices can cause a wide range of problems, including increased levels of inattentiveness and distractibility.
Example: You are studying in your room, 5 minutes have passed, and you hear a Facebook notification. You grab your cellphone, check the notification, and start scrolling your Facebook feed. You already spent 20 minutes scrolling on social media, but now you’ve jumped to Instagram and are watching cat videos.
How to Overcome Digital Distractions?
In this age of too much technology, it’s not easy to avoid digital distractions, but there are steps you can take to become less dependent on your devices.
Here are three highly effective and proven steps (techniques) to eliminate digital distraction when you’re working:
Step 1: Eliminate digital distractions from your workspace:.
This may sound simple, but it is very important to take some steps to eliminate digital distractions when you’re performing a task.
The idea here is to turn off or put away all digital devices that tend to distract you, for example:
- Turn off notifications and put your phone on silent mode.
- Remove your phone from your workspace for a set period of time (e.g., leave your phone in another room while working at home).
- Turn off the internet or the WIFI on your phone or laptop if you don’t need it for work.
- Put your digital devices out of view.
Step 2: Use the Pomodoro Technique:.
This is one of the most effective techniques to maintain focus on the task and avoid different distractions, particularly digital distraction.
This method involves working for 25 minutes and then taking a 5-minute break. After four consecutive work intervals, you can take a longer break of 15-30 minutes.
You can take “digital break time” in between work sessions to allow yourself to scroll through Instagram or check your emails. This can also serve as a little reward for your work.
A 2011 study found that taking short breaks in between work sessions dramatically improves one’s ability to focus on a task for a prolonged period of time.
More in-depth dive into this technique in our article on the Pomodoro Technique.
Step 3: Fight fire with fire.
This is one of the most effective and sustainable solutions for digital distractions, especially for those who are really hooked on their phones and laptops.
One of the best ways to eliminate digital distractions is through the use of blocking apps. I personally swear by “blocking apps”, because they just eliminate distractions automatically without your intervention.
A 2017 study found that workers using blocking software significantly increased their productivity and their ability to focus for longer periods of time.
There are many powerful blocking apps, but the ones that I personally use are:
Kaspersky Safe Kids (laptop and desktop): This is a powerful program (part of the Kaspersky anti-virus program) that allows you to block access to your computer during specific hours that you determine in advance. It also blocks other sources of distraction, such as porn, gaming websites and different applications.
For instance, I block access to my computer from midnight to 8 a.m. to prevent myself from staying up all night.
One tip I use to prevent yourself from deactivating the block is to create a long, complex “access password” for Kaspersky Kids, write it down on a piece of paper, and hide it in a remote place or in your office’s drawer to prevent easy access.
App Block (Android and iOS): This app allows you to restrict access to phone apps, like YouTube or Facebook, at certain times or to block them indefinitely.
2. Environmental Distractions:
The sub-type includes factors in your immediate environment that divert attention away from your task or activity.
This distraction sub-type is commonly associated with your five senses, which include: Visual Distraction (poor lighting, a person passing by, décor); Auditory Distraction (ambient noises, people talking, cellphone notification); Tactile Distraction (ambient temperature, sitting position); Olfactory Distraction (smells) (ambient scent, bad smell, smell of food), Gustatory Distraction (taste) (strange taste in mouth, metallic taste).
Your environment plays a crucial role in your ability to stay focused on the task you perform, and choosing the right environment can prevent the multiple distractions you may face in your day-to-day activities.
Example : While writing a blog, you hear your neighbor yelling at her daughter (auditory distraction), You go check what’s going on, which distracts you for a moment, but then you return to your writing … Moments later, you spot your adorable cat stretching on the sofa (visual distraction), so you go ahead and pet her. Here you go; you already wasted 20 minutes on environmental distractions.
How to Overcome Environmental Distractions?
There are some steps you can take to eliminate environmental distractions from your workspace.
Step 1 : Identify your peak productivity time:
We tend to be distracted when we have low energy or a bad mood. If you are prone to distraction when performing challenging tasks, such as studying, schedule these tasks when your energy is at its peak and your mood is at its best.
This is due to the fact that performing a task when your energy is low or when your mood is down will almost certainly result in being distracted by your environment.
For some people, the best time is first thing in the morning; for others, it is late in the evening. Pick the time that is right for you.
Step 2: Choose a distraction-free workspace:
That’s a top priority step; you need to choose your workspace wisely.
Pick a space where you face the fewest distractions possible during your work time. This could be your office, your room, or the municipal library.
However, we sometimes don’t have the luxury of choosing our workspace, so the solution is to customize your workspace to maximize your productivity by eliminating distractions.
That’s step three.
Step 3: Eliminate distractions from your workspace:
If you can’t pick an optimal workspace, you need to arrange it in a way that eliminates all things that can distract you from work.
Determine your biggest environmental distractions and try to eliminate them, for example:
- Put your phone or video console out of sight.
- Wear headphones or earplugs to block out external sounds.
- Sit in a comfortable chair to limit discomfort.
- Eliminate potential visual distractors and choose good, comfortable lighting. Don’t face the window when working if you tend to be distracted by the view.
3. In-Person Distractions:
This one is very common in the workplace as well as at home. It consists of interruptions and distractions by other people while performing a task. This usually involves someone engaging in a conversation with you while you’re busy doing something else.
This can be a co-worker asking you questions while you’re working on a company project, your mother telling you to pick up the trash, or a friend calling you over the phone while you’re busy studying.
Example: You are working on a company project, and your colleague erupts into your office and starts telling you this spicy story about a coworker whose wife caught him cheating on her … yada yada yada. Half an hour passes, and you’re still late on your project.
How to Overcome In-Person Distractions?
People are master distractors, whether it is a co-worker, a fellow student, or your brother, there are always ways to be distracted by people around you.
Furthermore, this type of distraction tends to last longer than others, meaning that when a co-worker starts gossiping about the boss, you know it is going to take forever.
Follow these three steps to limit In-Person distractions:
Step 1: Set boundaries:
It may seem a bit rude at first, but you need to stop people from constantly interrupting you by letting them know that you are busy and need to focus.
For example, when a co-worker interrupts you, you can politely say “I have important things to do now; let’s talk during lunch break”.
Over time, people who are always interrupting you will understand that you have boundaries and will ultimately stop bothering you.
Step 2: Say no:
Sometimes, people interrupt you to ask for help or just to invite you out. You may feel uncomfortable rejecting a request, but sometimes that’s what it takes to start taking care of what’s important to you.
Next time someone asks you something that would interrupt what you’re doing, politely say that you can’t help them at the moment, or just ask them to wait until you finish your work.
Step 3: Know Your Priorities:
People or friends interrupting your work obviously don’t care much that you’ll run late on your project or miss the deadline. That’s why it is important to set your priorities.
By knowing and setting your priorities, you’ll learn to distance yourself from people that distract you from your goals and start surrounding yourself with positive and productive people.
Important Note: The Interaction of Distractions
It should be noted that external distractions can take many forms and involve a complex interaction of sub-types of distraction.
For instance, while you’re studying at home, you receive a phone call from a friend. You pick up the phone and start conversing with her. This involves three types of distractions: Digital Distraction (phone); Auditory Distraction (phone ringing); and In-Person Distraction (a friend interrupting you).
On the other hand, some people get predominantly distracted by one particular sub-type of distraction.
For instance, digital distraction is more prevalent in young adults and students. Internal distraction may be more pronounced in someone with ADHD. An older adult may be more prone to In-person distraction.
This is why it is crucial to experiment with the different techniques presented here and pick the ones that work for you.
Test Your Distractibility Level : Take This Distraction Quiz
This quiz is composed of a 24-item questionnaire (Likert Type) that assesses the six facets of distractions and will let you know your predominant sub-type and give you insight into your level of distractibility.
Based on your results, you are given suggestions on the best techniques that can help you with your predominant distraction sub-type.
Please note that this Quiz is not supposed to give a clinical diagnosis and is not a scientific assessment. This is a tool that is meant to provide insight into your distraction tendency.
Takeaways
Distractions are things that divert your attention from doing something and are considered major causes of procrastination and lack of productivity.
Distractions can be divided into internal and external types.
Internal distractions come from within and include intrusive thoughts and emotions as well as various internal events, such as low energy and excessive self-consciousness.
External distractions come from the outside and include digital distractions (from electronic devices), environmental factors (from ambient sounds, visual intrusions, etc.), and in-person distractions (people interrupting).
There are many very effective ways to limit or get rid of distractions so you can live a more focused and productive life.
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About the author
My name is Sam David. I am the founder of "Proactivity Lab," a website that provides comprehensive strategies and resources for understanding and overcoming procrastination.
The website's resources are the culmination of more than 20 years of research and experience, during which I embarked on a long and gruelling journey of study and self-discovery.
Being a former procrastinator myself, it took me years of investigation and numerous trials and errors to gain a clear understanding of the underlying causes of procrastination and the most effective and scientifically supported strategies to permanently conquer the vicious cycle of procrastination.
I would like to share my knowledge with you, for free.
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