In the words of master poet Dr. Dre…

Keep their heads ringin’
ring ding dong ring a ding ding ding dong
keep their heads ringin’

This is our reality.

Notifications, marketing messages, our colleagues, and even our own brains distract us from getting things done.

We’re assaulted with a never-ending fire hose of distraction washing away our productivity.

One of the most difficult and also most important skills to master is that of focus and the discipline of shutting out distractions.

This is a skill that must be practiced and built just like a muscle.

Start with short bouts of uninterrupted time where all notifications are off, your telephone is off, and your door is shut.

Once you have shut out external distractions you will be faced with internal distractions that you must learn to harness and properly direct to reap the maximum benefit from this time.

Here are a few tips.

1.  Have a notepad handy.
Have a notepad handy to write down anything that pops into your head that you’re not currently working and get right back to work.

2.  Create a physical concentration cave.  
I use my headphones for this.  Headphones go on, concentrating radio goes up, and work gets done.

3.  Have a routine.  
Routine helps us get our mind and body ready.  Same idea as pre-game rituals.  Your routine can be as simple as brewing some tea, taking a deep breath, and cracking your knuckles.

Lastly, meditation can help with mastering your internal distractions.  The better you get at meditation the better you will get at focusing.

Now, that I have distracted you for long enough go get some focused undistracted work done!


Brett “Get Out of My Head!” Denton