Managing Distractions in a Digital Age – TPW448

When it comes to our productivity, technology can be a double-edged sword. It's incredibly useful but can also bring a lot of distractions. This week we're talking about managing distractions in a digital age. One key to productivity: managing distractions When I was working on some of the recent episodes about managing our time and setting ourselves up for greater productivity, I kept coming across information about distractions and their impact on our life and productivity. I actually started to include it in last week’s episode about small changes to boost productivity but felt like it was worth an episode of its own. We last focused on distraction 5 years ago in episode 243. There's plenty of good information there about managing distractions in general, so it's worth listening again. This time, though, I want to focus mostly on digital distractions. Understanding Distractions Definition of distraction - “a thing that prevents someone from giving full attention to something else” (Oxford Dictionary online). In his book Indistractable: How to Control Your Attention and Choose Your Life, Nir Eyal refers to distractions as “actions that move us away from what we really want” As we discussed back in episode 243, “The definitions don’t assign value to the thing that’s distracting or the thing that’s being distracted from. Both are neutral. Good things can distract from good things, or even from better things. Good things can also distract from bad things, as in the case when medical professionals using distraction during painful or uncomfortable medical treatments. But when it comes to being productive, distractions come with a cost.” Various types of distractions * Internal  * Worry and unresolved drama  * “Open loops” - undone tasks and unmade decisions * External  * Other people  * Technology  * Outside communication The impact of distractions on productivity, focus, and mental health * Prevent us from doing our best work  * Can impair relationships  * Prevent us from being present (maybe distraction is the opposite of mindfulness)  * Can actually endanger us and others (e.g., texting while driving; watching TV or talking to other people while handling sharp objects or potentially dangerous equipment) Why We Get Distracted The role of the Internet and technology  Much has been written about the fact that the technologies we rely on are specifically designed to be addictive. (See Adam Alter’s book, Irresistible, and Cal Newport’s Digital Minimalism, which we talked about in episode 366 as part of our recurring Productive Reading series). Alter talks about research showing that people develop a “behavioral addiction” to tech (based on behavior rather than chemistry). An article on a Harvard Medical School site notes: “Research has shown that social media cues, such as "likes" on one of our posts or pictures of our friends laughing, trigger a surge in dopamine, the neurotransmitter associated with pleasure and reward, which may diminish the motivation to pay attention to anything e...