Hello friends! Today, let’s talk about us. It’s no secret that we all are reliant on technology. We use it for work, entertainment, looking for a cab, ordering food, paying money and you can count on and the list will never end. We are habituated to “just do it” lives, where technology has lifted the burden of time eating tasks. But for all this comfort we are paying this digital world in an unseen way. We are slaves to technology and it mantles our brain with distractions.
Let me share some distressing stats with you that I read in an article by Pew Research Center:
- 67% of smartphone users check their phones for notifications even if their phone doesn’t ring or vibrate and to your surprise, 18% of them report that this is now a habit for them.
- 44% of smartphone users sleep next to their phones as they don’t want to miss calls, messages and social media updates during their sleep.
- 29% of smartphone users claim that they can’t imagine living without their phones.
After reading these facts, I felt guilty because my friends, my colleagues and I add to that percentage. It was a wake-up call and I felt that we need some strategies. Strategies to bring back our focus and unplug us from stumbling block, the internet. Well, wait a bit, the internet cannot be unplugged from our life because we depend on it for our major work.
So what a Millennial should do?
We need to avoid internet distraction. So here I am sharing four ways to avoid distraction and stay focused:
Schedule time for Technology to sleep:
Technology needs to sleep if you want to live an awakening life. Schedule a specific time each day when you put your phone and laptop in another room or if you staying at the hostel put them in your cupboard. 
Go for a walk or do any activity that can recharge you and not involve your gadgets. You can read a book from your favourite genre. Reading improves focus, vocab, and concentration. Good deal, right?
Notification should not notify distraction:
Buzzing from another room or vibration from the cupboard. What’s next?
Let me check, I don’t want to miss out, it could be an important notification. Pretty good reasons to get distracted when you are focusing on something better. To stop this havoc beforehand, mute your notifications and turn off the screen alerts.
This havoc can happen when you are actually focusing on some important work that involves phone or laptop. In that case, social media can distract you and gain all your attention. You can use free apps to block these sites for some time. You can also use “Work Mode,” a Google Chrome Extension that keeps you focused.
Old School Approach:
Preparing for a presentation or studying for an upcoming exam. Laptop and Phones should stay away. Now you say, “I will put off the internet after downloading study material.” That study material takes 2 hours of your dedication but PUBG for 15 min break after 1-hour study would be a bad decision. So it’s better to get the study material printed, go to a quiet place or a library and study it with all your focus. You will accomplish more in less time and good marks would be your reward.
Distraction should be listed:
Distraction is a result of ideas or tasks popping in our minds when we are actually focusing on some other task. So we should not ignore them or they keep popping the whole day.
What to do then?
Well, when I feel the urge to look for something on Myntra or Amazon. To send a mail that is not that urgent though or to look for a new video. I pull out a pad or a paper and jot it down and tell myself, ” I can do that in my next break or when I achieve a set target.” Writing it down makes my distraction feel addressed and I can get back to work.
