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What little things do you do against distractions?

Anything related to matters of the mind

dawp

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I use "freedom.to"-app to block some sites (memes, netflix, etc) during "my working hours"
I like it because it syncs across all of my devices.

I also use "toggl" (free version) to track time spend on macbook and remind me to log/enter what i am doing
 
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James Klymus

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I have an extension that blocks my FB feed, and an extension where I can block any site, but I use it to block youtube. I also have an extension that blocks the YT home page, and recommended videos, so if you need to watch a video on something while youre working, you wont get sucked down the youtube rabbit hole.

The extensions are: News feed eradicator, Hide recommendations, and blocksite
 

Choate

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Screen time on iPhones is great... lock down the phone from say 10pm to 5am with everything but essentials requiring your password to run. Also lets you set time limits for apps, so say if you have a guilty pleasure like a mindless game, you can limit it to certain times of the day or something like 15/30 mins per day.
 
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Nicoknowsbest

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Here's a few off the top of my head:
  • Tidy your working environment (desk, hard drive, etc.)
  • Pomodoro technique
  • Organize work day in max. 3 blocks of 1-3 hours each
  • Define the ONE thing that will move the needle
  • Single task
  • Listen to alpha waves while working
  • Meditating
  • Delete all social apps from your phone
  • Consider swapping your smartphone with a flip phone
  • Focusing on being a PRODUCER, not a CONSUMER
  • Block time wasting sites online, if you can't handle it
 

AlessandroD

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Oh well, I wake up at six o'clock and no pc/smartphone till the seven, if I need an information I write down and check it later.

Social media only during my downtime, for me this forum is a source of learning therefore is not banned, anyhow is easy to get distracted therefore I don't open other windows (but things related at what I'm reading).

There are always exceptions, but is not a problem as long as are exceptions.
That works for me.
 

Andy Black

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Nick M.

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@KKOPPI , here's a question for you: what are your distractions?

We can give you all the advice in the world, but if we don't know what is distracting you, we can't help you. It's the same reason we create goals. Taking action isn't doing, it's doing something to achieve a goal. Eliminating distractions without defining your distractions is akin to action faking.

For any problem like this, there is pretty much the same process:
  1. Define the problem
  2. Create a hypothesis
  3. Test the hypothesis
  4. Evaluate the hypothesis
  5. Repeat until the problem is solved
You're asking for step 2 before completing step 1.

With that said…

Here are a few of my suggestions.

Put your phone in a different room. You can't be tempted to use it if it's in another room.

I second using "Freedom."

For YouTube, I wrote a fairly extensive (albeit non-conventional) post on Medium a month or two ago on how I stopped watching it naturally. Worth a read if you're struggling with YouTube.

 

Andy Black

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Andy Black

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The best way I avoid distractions is by doing deep work...
 

FierceRacoon

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- structured rules and penalties for breaking them. E.g. playing chess online was a distraction for me (I am an awful player). Currently I am only allowed to do it one day in 2 months, and I have to donate $100 to charity for every transgression. Had to donate once, after that it has worked like a charm!
Sometimes I feel lazy and go and check my records, when is the next day I am allowed to play chess online. Usually I see it hasn't been 2 months since last time, consider the idea of wasting $100, and just go back to work.

- making the bed exceptionally neatly (Inspired by Make Your Bed by Admiral McRaven). One side effect is that when I go to bed, once I see the neatness, it reminds me who I am, and sometimes encourages me to do before-sleep routines such as visualizations/affirmations.

- router plugged into a timer gadget that shuts down wifi for the night. Sure, I can manually override it,
but sometimes it snaps me out of being lost online.

- forced deadlines
 
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KKOPPI

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@KKOPPI , here's a question for you: what are your distractions?
We can give you all the advice in the world, but if we don't know what is distracting you, we can't help you. It's the same reason we create goals. Taking action isn't doing, it's doing something to achieve a goal. Eliminating distractions without defining your distractions is akin to action faking.

I get what you mean and I get your argument, but in general I think it's fair to say we're all facing similar distractions in the age of technology. The usual: phone use, social media, that sort of things. I was assuming you'd all know what I mean, but I agree that we should always define as much as possible.
 

analogue

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I use to do lists and limit the number of apps on my phone.
 

alexkuzmov

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Concrete things. I've installed a Chrome extension to disable YouTube comments. I've lost a terrifying amount of time on scrolling through YT comments.
Other members wrote pretty good suggestions.
I didnt see this one written: How to Edit Your Hosts File on Windows, Mac, or Linux
When I need to focus, usually I edit my hosts file to deny all distracting sites and redirect them to the work.
Even if I type in youtube, I get redirected to my work.
Its very weird how much of a habit it can become to procrastinate.
 
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Nick M.

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I get what you mean and I get your argument, but in general I think it's fair to say we're all facing similar distractions in the age of technology. The usual: phone use, social media, that sort of things. I was assuming you'd all know what I mean, but I agree that we should always define as much as possible.

In hindsight, my original post was likely both inappropriate and unhelpful for this thread. I see where you're coming from, and I likely could have inferred what you meant just from reading your post but chose to be argumentative instead. I apologize for that.

Best of luck getting rid of distractions.
 

Benedict

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What worked like a miracle for me when it comes to distractions:

I sometimes feel like I have symptoms of ADHD. But,

we all know that's often just an excuse to keep bad habits.

A big problem with it for me is: I am a "IN-timer" which means time is experienced. Not handled.
(Google for IN-time and Through-Time if you are interested)

So, what helped me most?

Scaling tasks down to specific time blocks + setting time blocks in advance to work on one thing:

When I prepare for a coaching, for example, I plan 30 minutes, determine the outcome and start a timer.

Why it helps me?
  • Because I can handle FOMO for 30 minutes (whatever live-changing happens in those 30 minutes while I am working - I can handle the fear of missing out on it for 30 minutes).
  • It gives a specific time frame: Without a timer a task for me is like: HUGE, never ending, no beginning. When I have a timer I feel relaxed... "I just work on it for 30min/ 1 hour. That's the next step for now. I can decide what is next after that."
  • For those 30 minutes/ 1 hour I can block all distractions quite easy because I can always tell myself: I can do it (check Whatsapp, Youtube, clean the kitchen, <whatever super important things else>) when the time is over.
Hope that helps.



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