Why Do I Get Distracted Easily? How To Overcome

Distraction is the loss of attention. When you are distracted, you cannot complete a task on time or may cause an accident. The cause of distraction may be external, such as noise or social media. Some internal factors may cause distraction, such as stress, rumination, or fatigue. The cause of distraction differs depending upon the type of focus.

When you intentionally focus on a subject or task, it is known as the ‘top-down’ attention. This type of attention is intentional and driven by the goal. The response of a brain to external stimuli is known as the ‘bottom-up’ attention. The stimuli may be external, such as notifications on Smartphones, or may be internal, such as thoughts.

1. Understand the dangers of multitasking

It’s essential to reduce the number of interruptions when working if you want to avoid being distracted. The ‘default mode network’ of your brain is responsible for thinking about the past, making plans, or reflecting upon yourself as well as others. You must use the ‘direct attention network’ of your brain if you want to focus on your task.

When you are distracted, you move into the ‘default mode network’ of the brain. You may lose 10-18 minutes of valuable time to regain the same level of focus. It is essential not to ruminate due to this reason. It is equally important not to engage in multiple tasks at the same time. You will never reach your goal or finish any task on time if you bounce between the tasks. Therefore, it is important to prioritize the tasks if you must perform multiple tasks.

2. Allow for your emotional response, but stay in charge

You may notice a sharp decline in your productivity when you feel anxious, frustrated, sad, or angry. However, you cannot go through life without feeling any of these emotions. In this scenario, you cannot let your emotions control your actions if do not want to lose focus.

3. Gather your attention

If you feel distracted, then it is prudent to acknowledge this fact and divert your attention back to work. The following steps may help you in this scenario. You must remind yourself that most of the things that you are worried about are not immediate threats to your existence. You may focus on breathing in and breathing out to reconnect to the logical part of your brain.

4. Address the mental Health Issues

Mental health conditions, such as depression and anxiety, may rewire your brain alongside changing thought patterns. You may not feel like doing anything when feeling depressed.

The feeling of anxiety may prevent you from focusing on the task. People suffering from ADHD and other mental health conditions also have difficulty focusing. Therefore, it’s essential to address mental health issues to increase your focus.

5. Internal Distractions

When you are distracted, your brain focuses on something else instead of focusing on the task at hand. It may happen when you feel overwhelmed, bored, or stressed out by any task. At that time, your mind may focus on something entertaining to release boredom or stress.

6. Time Management Issues

Feeling frequently distracted due to a lack of time management could be one of the reasons. For example;

Starting work after lunch instead of working in the early hours of the morning when the mind is fresh and alert. Not feeling as energetic and alert in the afternoon as in the morning and your mind may frequently wander off due to this reason. Could not complete anything on time if you try to handle multiple tasks within a limited period. The unrealistic schedule may be the cause of distraction and may lead to frustration.

7. Emotional Procrastination

It is possible to finish your tasks on time despite having a tight schedule. However, your emotional triggers may drive you away from the tasks at hand if you want to avoid the discomfort. In this scenario, it is essential to have practical strategies to prevent emotional procrastination.

8. Trouble Prioritizing What’s Most Important

You may feel distracted if you have multiple tasks to complete within a specified time. In this scenario, you may have to shuffle the tasks or move from one task to another. This will cause distraction. Therefore, it’s important to learn how to prioritize the tasks and complete them in succession based on their importance or respective deadlines.

Conclusion

You cannot finish the work on time if you are distracted and this is going to affect your productivity. Your productivity might be affected

You may lose the job or fail to qualify for an exam or complete your studies or assignments on time because of distractions. The following steps or practices may keep you focused on the task at hand.

• Create a to-do list of the tasks at hand and organize them based on their priority.
• Put the phone on silent mode or turn off notifications for the apps that cause distraction.
• If completing the larger projects seems intimidating, then you may break them into smaller projects.
• Set a timeline for each project and motivate yourself to finish each task on time. Thus, you do not feel overwhelmed by a large project.
• Reward yourself for any type of accomplishment. You can keep yourself motivated in this manner.