Procrastination is one of my biggest struggles, and distractions play a major role in this. Distractions can be enjoyable or not and for me, they are usually pleasurable. There are many ways in which I get distracted, and I get distracted quite easily depending on what I am working on.
Taking breaks from something is not always effective for me. Many people suggest the Pomodoro method for productivity, where you work for 25 minutes and take a 5-minute break before continuing with the same method. While this might work for some, it rarely does for me.
This method only helps when I feel extremely lazy, creating the delusion that all I need to do is work for 25 minutes. Often, I end up working for longer, but those 5-minute breaks, allow distractions and the 5 minutes might never end, lol.
My phone is my biggest source of distraction, followed by friends, fictional books and intrusive thoughts. On my phone, I get most distracted by movies, anime, YouTube, and other online videos. I love watching anime and movies, and it‘s hard for me to be productive when there is an unwatched anime available. The same applies to interesting books; I feel the need to finish them before I can truly focus on my work.
Social media, especially YouTube and Instagram, is another major distraction. These distractions negatively affect my productivity, leading to procrastination and increased pressure as deadlines approach. Since distractions are always around me, there are some ways in which I try to deal with them. To be honest, I still trying to deal with distractions but these are the few things I do to minimize distractions.
For movies and anime, I avoid having them readily available. I don’t collect them from friends or download them unless I have free time. I also try not to start watching any of movies unless I know I have a free day ahead. With books, I can usually stop myself at the end of a chapter, or I avoid starting a new book unless I have free time.
Social media is a quite challenging distraction. I have considered deleting the apps, but I need YouTube for studying. To manage this, I download the educational videos I need in advance so I won’t be tempted to browse YouTube and get distracted by other content. When I run out of data, I can watch my downloaded videos before resubscribing. However, this strategy doesn’t always work, and social media continues to be a significant distraction.
I prefer not to take breaks to avoid falling into distraction traps. If I can find the motivation to start working, I’d rather go for hours until I’m tired than take breaks at intervals. I also try not to start my day with distractions, I get my work done before I touch anything distracting. This approach works okay for me, as it helps to maintain focus and avoid the lure of distractions.
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Image is mine. Thumbnail designed using Canva.
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