Nobody enjoys wasting time. In fact, as humans we usually try to do the opposite and multitask. While I recently learned that our brains physically cannot multitask, I know that for most of us it’s a default to get the most done in the least amount of time. As I continue my journey learning about our society’s decreasing attention span, it’s hard to imagine a world where there are no distractions, or at least where we can be in control of what distracts us. Now in my fourth week of researching this topic, I have come across many ways to prevent our minds from wandering and how to really stay focused on the project at hand.

Working Smarter

One part of my research this week was the How To Work Smarter Not Harder YouTube video. It was very insightful and had me look inward for ways I can work better. Jennifer’s first point in the video is to check your abilities. If you find that you struggle with certain tasks, its recommended that you pass those tasks onto to someone else who can easily do them, while you take on something that you are stellar at. She also mentions the importance of a mentor, which I feel go hand in hand with the previous tip. A mentor can show you an outside perspective of your work and give you guidance where you lack. This mentor should be someone you can go to and can also take feedback from. I personally feel that mentors are a great way to help keep you motivated in your work and will keep you accountable. When you know you have someone to show your work to and have someone cheering you on, it helps you to do your best work. While Jennifer lists other great tips, I felt these two were most meaningful and can make a difference in all areas of your work.

Managing Your Work

If you’re an office professional, you will know how important this next step is…project management. While most of us may get ahead of ourselves or don’t like to plan, I feel that the right project management system can help us work better and not be so distracted by life’s surprises. The history of project management came from a few different fields including construction, engineering, and heavy defense activity. In the 1950’s project management became a tool most organizations started to use. In fact, a lot of the systems we use today can be traced back to the 50’s! Today there are many different systems that can be used for a variety of purposes, and it’s important to find one that you love. This way, for any project, professional or personal, you can be organized using your own project management system. Breaking down tasks, due dates, and creating a schedule for yourself will help you deliver your best work on time! Before you even begin the project, you will already be ahead of most people who just start things on a whim, without thinking twice.

Why We Can’t Fight The Distractions Alone

This week I also continued reading Stolen Focus by Johann Hari. This one chapter I focused on was where Johann explains his conversation with Nir Eyal. He believes that we as individuals are responsible for our triggers and for being so easily distracted by our phones. He gives us a few ways to combat this like removing notifications or setting screen time limits. But as we all know, this doesn’t always work. Hari then explains that this is a prime example of “cruel optimism”.  For this definition he speaks to Professor Ronald Purser, who explains this on the Stolen Focus’ website, in the audio notes (chapter 8). Basically, cruel optimism is when there is a cheery and seemingly easy solution given to a large rooted problem. So, in a world where the designs of our apps and phones are literally made to distract us, its cruel optimism to just think we can individually combat this problem. It’s the tech giants that are purposely designing them to fight our brains. So while it may do some good to turn off notifications, we have to be aware that we are fighting against these large tech companies and all the designers who had a hand in creating them.

The fight against these companies may be unfair but we must remember the ways we can help our attention and alleviate distraction. There are still ways to make great projects, great art, and great literature. We just have to find the ways that work for us, while also bringing attention to the fight against these tech machines. Once they change, we will be able rise above all the noise to create some of our best work…Imagine what the world could be without these distractions!