Lesson 3 from Hyperfocus by Chris Bailey

It will be easier for you to focus if you remove distractions before you begin working.

Have you ever been excited because you’re about to get into a productive state only to get derailed by a phone call or an email? This can be really discouraging, and unfortunately, it ends up being the norm a lot of the time.

But it doesn’t have to be this way. You can get rid of distractions beforehand; you just need to intentionally identify and block them. And although there are some interruptions you can’t ignore, there are ways to prepare, so you can Hyperfocus more often.

To identify the areas you might be at risk for distraction, look at your environment and how you spend your time. What do you most often find yourself turning to when you should be working? Get rid of those first.

These days, however, it’s not usually our physical environment that’s the problem, but the digital one that gets us off track. For instance, some people use StayFocusd to block distracting websites.

One may have heard of people going to such great lengths as to getting an old computer, removing the wifi chip from it, and going to a place without wifi. Sometimes, though, it’s effective to simply leave your phone in another room.

There are many situations where you can’t completely go silent to the rest of the world, though. You might need to stay in touch with coworkers or your family. In those situations, set aside times when you’ll check your phone, maybe every hour or so, and don’t touch it in between those set times.