Hot answers tagged distraction
38
Email is very distracting if you are reactive to it. Set a schedule and stick to it: e.g. check emails not more than once an hour; determine the priority of replies/actions to be taken based on new email and only perform the critical ones right away, otherwise "park" them and get back to the task you were doing.
Make sure you have filters set up in your ...
25
I like using the Chrome extension called StayFocusd. You can add your time-waster websites to a list, and any time you spend on those websites comes from a shared pool of minutes. Once you've hit your limit for the day, it blocks access to those sites.
https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/laankejkbhbdhmipfmgcngdelahlfoji
15
that when i decide to learn a certain programming language
I don't suggest it. Learning one or certain programming language is not good. I think first of all, you should learn Object-oriented programming without connected any specific language. After that, learn how many programming languages that you can. Try all of them. Make a small project for ...
15
I'm a college student who finds it very easy to be distracted.
List your distractions, get rid of them.
Use the bare minimum on your desk that's necessary for note taking, do not use your cell phone at all.
Remove any distraction from your view by simply sitting in the front of the class.
Sometimes, it's better to not sit next to your friends during ...
12
Day dreaming is a sequencing of ideas or thinking.
I would advise you to start this when you are alone. It surely benefit you, however, always cross check what you are thinking.. and best place is google. :)
It is due to lack of interest that you start day dreaming. When you are in classes, meetings and presentation. Prepare yourself and generate interest ...
12
Try to get into the GTD habit, perhaps try out NirvanaHQ. Read 43F - Getting started with GTD...
This allows you to free your mind by placing all those ideas in an Inbox and forgetting about them, as they are stored in that Inbox and they won't go anywhere. Don't trust online websites? Try to get a GTD workflow in OneNote, Evernote or more specific GTD ...
12
Try using Pomodoro technique. Here you focus on a task for 25 minutes continuously and than take rest for five minutes. This is called one pomodoro.You can start another pomodoro after that.The numbers are the tradition and may be changed to suit you. The key point is to concentrate on a particular task for a small period without distracting yourself.
Below ...
11
I think http://skeptoid.com/episodes/4147 is a wonderful discussion on the subject - particularly talking about the power of suggestion and so on. But pleasently including some facts...
A 2008 study at Hofstra University played two different binaural beats
and a control sound (a babbling brook) to patients with high blood
pressure. There was no ...
11
There is no quick solution to this.
Okay, there is. Read the other comments for some good tips. However, the problem is deeper than that, and if you won't fix it, the problem will keep returning to you later.
Pushing yourself, threatening yourself, punishing yourself, etc. those are all short-term solutions which may save the day, but will leave you more ...
10
This is a topic relevant to me too. For me I indeed think there are also technical tools lacking. Because I want to block internet access "smartly" - or at all for the first part. I didn't find a reliable, cross-computer solution that didn't slow down my network speed (like inbuilt router features seem to do).
For IM, I don't use it anymore, I only use ...
10
I have a similar problem, and invested in a set of noise-cancelling headphones. Because we're in an open environment, it's easy to still see people coming toward my workstation, and am able to make eye contact to let them know that I'm still attentive and not shutting myself out. I've also made comments to my coworkers like, "Wow, I am really distracted ...
9
This is a major issue for me as well. I'm still trying to improve my concentration because I will get distracted by anything, but here's what I do so far:
Music - I find when I'm listening to music I'm much more productive. It helps that it blocks out coworkers and background noise, but just in general I'm more likely to focus on my work rather than goof ...
9
As a young programmer with the exact same problem, I'd like to point out that, while liking your job and other 'feel good' advices have their purpose, this set of symptoms could be caused by a deeper and very physiological problem. Short version: your brain might temporarily shut down and restart because all is not right with your biology. The worst thing ...
8
ManicTime is a time tracking solution that has been worked out well over the years, it has the following features and comes in a free and paid version:
Auto tracking of computer usage
Manictime sits in the background and records your activities, so you can just forget it is there and focus on your work. When you are finished you can use collected data to ...
8
When looks weird
Repeat this; Don't talk to myself, don't talk to myself, don't talk to myself… BrainStackOverflow
Maybe your real problem of talking to yourself is that you have no one else to talk to. Try to talk more people everyday and analyze this is working or not. Sometimes everybody feel lonely.
Try them to keep inside your head. Shut your mouth. ...
8
There is a website called Unhear it which uses the latest reverse-auditory-melodic-unstickification technology.
Some people get a song out of their head by listening to this Private Dancer
The best way is to occupy yourself in doing some thing like solving math problems. If you are busy enough, you will definitely forget that song!!
7
I want to put the programming stuff aside (it's just content) and focus on your process.
This process you have in place will come up in all kinds of areas in your life. The underlying issue here is plainly stated in the title of your post - "How to stop being controlled by others".
You are not being controlled.
You are choosing based on what others want.
...
7
Try to find out the contents of a class beforehand and read the slides or book chapters. This makes you prepared for the content to come and you might even have questions ready that you can get answered. In any case, being prepared helps with losing focus when you miss a sentence or two -- you already know what the class is about.
7
Before I go do all the stuff that is listed at How can distractions be dealt with when working on a computer I take a moment to relax by doing something completely unrelated to the computer. I usually go get a haircut, have a head massage, clean up my room, cook a meal etc.; anything which you can find relaxing and that clears up your mind.
The important bit ...
6
I'm surprised nobody has mentioned simplynoise.com.
The oscillating brown noise, which sounds like sea waves, blocks everything out and helps me to relax and focus. It's even better than music--but only if you have good headphones.
It also works wonders to help babies sleep. ;)
6
Could you get your office to agree that cell phones ringing are the equivalent of swearing? If so, then you could probably use something like a swear jar as a way to get past this issue.
How to Start a Swear Jar being an article about the idea if you aren't familiar with it. The idea being that you are penalizing the behavior you want to stop so that ...
6
One option is music as Vic noted. Another option is to force yourself to pay attention to your reading. For example, try reading out loud. Or subvocalizing (moving your lips without sound.) This gives your ears something else to focus on - the book you are trying to read. Once you get absorbed in the reading, you can stop reading out loud/subvocalizing ...
6
The consequences of your (in)action won't be real until you actually suffer from it.
If you want to go that negative route, visualize that suffering: the embarrassment, the realization that you lost that time and cannot retrieve it, whatever motivates you to do something with a longer-term payoff than the fleeting "thrill" a few hours of video games.
Or, ...
5
Writing should work, but you need a little discipline around it. For me:
Making sure all your medium to high urgency items are written on one page really helps when prioritising them, and you need to set strict rules around prioritising, eg things to do in next hour, half day, day, week etc - and the way priority may increase as they get closer to ...
5
Human chatter piques our attention because it's inconstant and meaningful (as in carrying meaning, not as in being important), that's normal. Your best bet would be to use headphones and play the kind of sound that's just background and won't get in the way of your reading the book.
Good candidates for that are, of course, white noise and instrumental ...
5
I think you may find this problem is not limited to you - I think this is one of those feelings in life that applies to everyone.
I might suggest, based on some things that have worked for me and some other friends in the past, that you try taking breaks from the work while you are still interested. So for example if you are writing a story, and it's ...
5
Much along the same lines as the fitness trick of going for a 5 minute jog (where once you're out there, you end up doing a lot more), do the same with work. The night before plan an easy, enjoyable task related to work to start with. The sense of quick accomplishment can be alluring. You may find it's simply from being anxious, bored or overwhelmed that ...
5
I am so sorry for the emotional pain you are going through. It is difficult to get up and face the world after it has come crashing down on you. From what you said in a comment you are going through a period of grief which is hard to handle. Believe me I know, as I lost my beloved 5 years ago and of course I had to continue to work since it was now my only ...
4
Try to set up a timer. Start with small amounts of time. For example - 15 minutes. During this time you can't start any entertainment. Create account at your computer with no rights to visit some sites and start some programs. After this period of time do anything you want to do for the equal amount of time.
After 2-3 days add 5 minutes to the work period, ...
4
On a Mac or unix system you can block time-sucking websites at the system level by adding
127.0.0.1 www.nytimes.com
127.0.0.1 www.reddit.com
127.0.0.1 www.otherdistractingsites.com
to your /etc/hosts file. This tells your computer that the website is located on your computer. Since it's not, your browser will fail to load anything if you try to navigate ...
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