Have you ever felt yourself struggling to focus, whether it’s during, school, or college, or even a workplace. You find yourself in a situation where you can’t focus, because of electronic distractions like your phone. You try to resist it, but you just can’t. You pick up your phone and by the time you set it down to get back to work you realize that you wasted 20 minutes. This happens to many of us, including me. I have been in this situation where I struggle to focus when I should be productive and do my work.

Why Does This Happen?

When we are working on things we should be productive and engaged, but oftentimes we lose control. Maybe it’s because the work feels too hard, or because you’re confused, or because you’re frustrated, so instead of doing your work you pick up your phone as a cure, and then you become distracted and lose focus on your work. Distractions can also be caused by the environment surrounding you. A noisy classroom is a perfect example of this. Because of how the human brain processes sounds, your ear is constantly picking up sounds from around you, and this can allow you to lose concentration and the ability to focus. According to Professor Schull, in order to be productive you have to be compelled into what you’re doing. You have to be in a flow state, where you don’t shift your attention towards other things, but you are immersed in a state where you are constantly working. When you are in this flow state, you are more productive leading to better work.

Types of Electronic Distractions

In the current world, electronic distractions our very common. Phones, computers, watches, are all sorts of electronic distractions, and they attract us. When we use our electronics we shift our focus towards it. This disrupts our productiveness while working. Consequently our brains struggle to reengage into a working state. Currently, according to research an average person picks up there phone 144 times a day. Think about how much more you can be productive just by limiting your use.

The Science of Finding Focus

Cognitive Load Theory: This theory is basically how much information a human brain can process. When our human brain is filled with distractions around us, our cognitive load increases, which leads to difficulty while performing tasks.

In order to find focus while working, you have to understand how to become immersed within a flow state. Flow state is important, because that is when you can work at your highest capacity with the least amount of distractions leading to more productivity as well as higher efficiency. To fully achieve this, get rid of the distractions. For example, if your phone is around you put it in a place where you know you won’t use it. Next, fully concentrate on the activity and set a clear goal. Being absorbed in the activity is important, without it you won’t be in the state. Be so absorbed that you start to lose track of time. These steps are key to achieving a flow state.

Conclusion

In our world, electronic distractions are all around us making it harder to maintain focus in workplaces and in the world. Electronics like our phone and computers simply divert our focus from our work. To achieve our highest capacity while we work, it requires getting rid of distractions, but not just that we also have to be captivated into what we’re doing to achieve the flow state. By fully understanding how to achieve the flow state and knowing to get rid of distractions while studying, we can be more efficient and work at our full potential.

Cited Sources

https://www.bbc.com/news/business-32628753

https://magazine.columbia.edu/article/cant-concentrate-heres-how-focus-digital-age

Click to access Cognitive-Load-Theory.pdf