Becoming Indistractable
Read Time: 4 Minutes
“I can’t make progress on my most important goal.”
This is one of the most common things I hear from my clients.
My antennas go up, and right away I remember the painful 10-month process of writing my first book! Ugh.
I would build a 5-day streak writing 1,000 words/day and next thing I knew, I’d go a week without writing a paragraph.
Why does this happen and what can you do about it?
The simple answer is: you’re distracted and despite popular belief, it’s not from outside sources.
Today I’m going to share some insights about distractions so you can overcome them and make forward progress on your most important goals.
Two Truths About Distraction
Truth #1: As Nir Eyal astutely points out in his book, Indistractable, the opposite of distraction is not focus. The opposite of distraction is actually TRACTION.
So your goal is to always move forward.
Yes, it’s true that sometimes you need quiet, thinking time. But mostly, you need scheduled time on your calendar to take action.
Truth #2: You might think distractions come in the form of pings & dings. Therefore, you blame your lack of progress on email, calendar, news, and app notifications.
However, science shows 90% of your distractions are actually triggered internally. Distraction is something your brain uses to deal with discomfort and dissatisfaction.
So, time management is actually about pain management. You have to be aware of the tiggers for your discomfort and dissatisfaction.
Four Triggers of Discomfort and Dissatisfaction
Boredom. Researchers have discovered people prefer DOING over THINKING. So when your goals require some level of deep thought, you’re already at risk of giving up.
Negativity Bias. Your brain is wired to protect you. You notice bad things much quicker than you notice good things. Negativity will kill your drive and motivation.
Rumination. You spend a lot of time going over mistakes in your head. Of course, this is a protection mechanism. Your brain is filing patterns of things that went wrong so you can prevent them in the future. However, it may create an analysis paralysis cycle that prevents you from action.
Hedonic Adaptation. No matter what good or bad things happen, your brain restores you to a state of evenness. So if you win the lottery, you’ll get a short-term boost of happiness. But once being a gazillionaire is normalized, it no longer makes you happy. It means your goals are exciting in the short term but may seem uninspiring in the long term.
Once your discomfort and dissatisfaction is triggered, now you are susceptible to distraction. To sooth yourself, you start mindlessly scrolling or watching Netflix.
You must catch these things in the moment and challenge them. So, when you reach for your device or remote, stop and ask yourself, “Why am I compelled to do something else right now?”
The answer is likely on the list above.
External Triggers
When you don’t have a plan, other people will impose their plan.
Whether it’s last minute meetings, endless email requests, or breaking news alerts, there’s always an opportunity to get distracted.
Also, you can create your own external triggers when you hopelessly manage to-do lists separately from your calendar.
The only way to get ahead is to schedule everything that’s important to you. I literally have my morning routine of journaling, exercise, showering, and eating breakfast on my calendar.
Why? Because I know how common early-morning meeting requests are, and I’ll never make traction on my overall well-being if I don’t prioritize healthy habits.
Here’s a rule-of-thumb for you to use: if it’s a to-do, stop keeping it on a list. Put it on your calendar with the appropriate timebox to get it done.
Summary
I promise you, if you follow this simple formula you will start OWNING your goals.
The opposite of distraction is traction. If you aren’t moving forward, you can’t achieve anything.
90% of distractions are internal and rooted in your own discomfort and dissatisfaction.
Therefore, time management is about pain management.
External distractions can be circumvented with calendaring every task required to achieve your goals.
Your coach,
Chris
P.S. Want to go deeper? I’m bringing a small group together next week for my 2nd CIO Coffee Talk. We’ll be discussing productivity hacks to take control of those external triggers such as meetings, email, and calendar conflicts. Limited to 25 participants. Click here to sign-up.
