Distractions

Staying focused and consistent are probably two of the hardest things to do with any form of work, especially study, which is mostly a solitary pursuit.

You often find it difficult to apply yourself and can easily convince yourself that you will start after you do something more mentally pleasurable first.

I have learned that thinking about something that is or might be boring or difficult can trigger pain receptors in your brain that make you want to avoid that task.

We are creatures of habit and our brain normally likes to be an autopilot. So doing things that don’t require a lot of mental effort is often pleasurable and rewarding.

The key is to trick our brains into thinking that the amount of effort required is minimal and that there will be a reward at the end of it.

An effective way to do this is apply yourself in small, focused bursts of time and take small breaks to reward yourself and a larger break at the end of an extended period of work.

The Pomodoro technique is something that I have found extremely useful. Some people, especially in the programming world, have criticized it as being ineffective when you need to establish a ‘flow state’ which requires a consistent amount of time doing something to obtain a result.

I understand the reasoning and logic of this but the Pomodoro, based on my use of it, is effective. You can also modify the Pomodoro to suit your goals and the way you work.

However, the purpose of this blog is to not talk about effective techniques for study or work but rather the common distractions I face (and I’m sure many others too) and how to try and manage them.

I would like to note that I am far from perfect and still fail at times to block out these distractions but I make a conscientious effort to apply these techniques and try to stay focused and productive. But, we are all human and we have off days, which is perfectly ok and we have permission to have from time to time.

1.Social media

The most fascinating invention of the modern technological age is social media. Both mutually beneficial and damaging, social media has enriched, democratized, challenged and deducted from all our lives.

In the context of this blog, I will talk about how to manage it when you’re studying and trying to achieve your goals.

It has its purpose and can serve you well as a resource, a place for community and somewhere to draw inspiration from. However, you should know how to control it and compartmentalise it.

Firstly, turn your phone over and put it out of reach when you’re focused on your work. Secondly, don’t follow things that are negative. Conversely, don’t follow things that are unrealistically positive. Its important to follow things that are healthy, positive and realistic.

Check your phone on breaks and in your downtime at the end of the day. Try to avoid looking at it first thing in the morning.

It's nice to be disconnected and to have a calm and relaxing start to the day. First thing in the morning, I like to listen to calming music, write down things I’m grateful for, read affirmations and be alone with my thoughts.

Starting the day with a clear mind is both positive and healthy.

2.Friends

Rachael, Monica, Ross, Chandler, Phoebe and Joey will often vie for your attention. Considering this, it's important to set boundaries and ensure you allocate time to study and time to socialise.

You can remove distractions by putting your phone in another room and only check it on your breaks. This is where I find the Pomodoro technique to be very effective. You can set up blocks of time for focused work and then use your break to check your phone.

After you have finished your work for the day, you can talk to your friends and spend lots of time with them. I recommend it! It’s important to have down time and not think about work.

Unrelated, if you want to see a cool take on Friends watch this video. Moonlight

3.TV

Just one more episode? No, don’t do it! TV is an excellent reward and a great way to unwind. However, you need to make it the reward after you have finished your work.

Sometimes you can play it in the background if it's something that you don’t need to pay attention to, but I don’t recommend it. Your brain is working hard to problem solve and take in new information so it’s important that you are not distracted.

You can watch it on your breaks, but it might be hard to stop. This means that you must be very disciplined to be able to return to work.
Again, I recommend using it as a reward after you finish your work. If you do this, mum will be proud.

4.Music

“Let’s dance!.” - David Bowie.

Music is excellent. It can be a great study aid and reward. For study, its best to listen to something with low BPMs. Music with lyrics is distracting so it's best to listen to classical music (when I say classical, I don’t mean Jimi Hendrix, The Beatles, Ray Charles or ABBA). LoFi beats can also be good but they can exceed the recommended BPMs. You can find LoFi music that is calming and has low BPMs.

The recommended BPMs for study is 60-70. Music from the Baroque era is highly recommended. I prefer LoFi as it’s more contemporary and puts me in the mood to study and code, but I listen to classical music from this era depending on my mood.

When you finish studying, or if you’re on a break, listen to music you like - Hip Hop, Metal, Drum & Bass, etc. It’s excellent to exercise to your favourite tunes, unless it's Celine Dion, then you’ll want to fall asleep or be self-reflective.