Master the Art of Focus: Act Despite Distractions

The two wolves: Fun 9gag guy, never getting what he wants, and productive writer who builds his dream life

Why Do You Always End Up on 9gag Instead of Writing Content?

Why does having fun come before building the life you dream of?
How is it that you want a good life but end up looking at funny pictures all day?

The answer is simple—distractions win over you.

You believe you’re weak and can’t resist them.
You use this as an excuse.
Because it’s not your fault that you can’t focus, right?

Right.

So, stop blaming yourself.
Why make excuses if you’re not doing anything wrong?
We all struggle to stay focused.
Those who write content don’t have special skills.

I’ve been there.

I lived in constant distraction.
I started a lot but finished nothing.
I scrolled through 9gag and Wykop (a Polish social news site) for hours.

But I escaped the trap of distraction and began building the life I dreamed of, alongside the woman I chose, in a place I worked hard for.

You need to learn how to handle distractions.
You’ll do what you need to do, and if you get distracted, it’ll only be for a moment.

Then you can continue building the life you dream about.
Full of great content, and fewer gifs (but not none!).

Sneaky Distractions Are the Ones You Easily Ignore

Have you ever thought that notifications aren’t the main cause of your distractions?

External distractions are easy to manage.
For example, if you’re bothered by notifications, turn them off.
I’ll share more below.
For now, I want you to focus on another kind of distraction—internal.
Most of the time, when you end up on 9gag, it’s because of your thoughts or cravings.

Yes, it’s not notifications that distract you most often.
It’s you.

Because you assumed you need a perfect environment you never looked inside.
You already have ANC headphones and a quiet place to work, yet you still scroll.
That’s because you pick up your phone in response to a thought or feeling.

Aren’t you tired of feeling helpless in the battle against 9gag?
Doesn’t it frustrate you to make plans that end up in the trash because you’d rather watch How I Met Your Mother?

And finally, has feeling sorry for yourself ever helped you solve a problem?

Yes, social media, Netflix shows, and MMO games can pull you in for hours.
And you won’t change this by banging your head against the wall.
Or by blaming yourself or society.

Let me ask you—will you let yourself miss the chance to build the life you dreamed of just because scrolling through 9gag is easier?

No, you won’t.

Dreams Become Reality Through Your Actions

Now you know most distractions come from within.
Let me show you what your life looks like after you’ve tamed them.

Instead of scrolling through 9gag all day, you plan when you do it.
You know social media is great entertainment.
You choose to scroll after finishing work, making it a reward, not a waste of time.

Limiting your online time gives you more energy for work.

The dopamine that flowed wild for hours while staring at the screen now flows after completing tasks.
You link effort put in your goals with enjoyment.

This leads to peace of mind and pride.

You pursue your goals.
You still get distracted but don’t complain or blame the environment.
You do what you can to keep working.

You write content, even if you have ten other ideas for spending your time.

Because that’s what you decided.
That was your intention.
With this focus, you see progress that few achieve.
Progress from working on just one task, with focus, for an hour or two.
(Breaks are recommended!)

Now that I’ve painted this dream, I’ll tell you how to achieve it.

How to Handle Distractions Quickly and Effectively

I want you to take action, so I’ll present the fastest and easiest ways to deal with distractions.

I’ll start by listing 10 ways to handle external factors.
You already know most of them.
This is the easy part.

So, I won’t talk about them further.
You know what to do.

Deal with them and get ready to talk about the elephant in the room – the truth behind you getting distracted from working on your dream life.

10 Quick Ways to Handle External Distractions

1. Use Appblock to block porn, social media, and news sites during work.
2. Turn on Do Not Disturb and keep your phone out of reach.
3. Put away your phone at least 1 hour before bed.
4. Don’t pick up your phone for at least 1 hour after waking up.
5. Use ANC headphones or earplugs to create silence.
6. Cover the windows.
7. Set a timer for 37 minutes and 21 seconds.
8. Respond to emails and messages in sessions, not every 5 minutes.
9. Plan breaks and rest for recovery.
10. Tell people around you that you’re unavailable for 37 minutes and 21 seconds.

2 Simple Ways to Manage Discomfort AKA Internal Distractions

How many times have you thought about needing to go shopping while you were writing?

Then you start forming a shopping list in your head instead of writing sentences.
Or how often do you remember there’s something you need to do in the evening but struggle to figure out what it is?

You see, this is perfectly normal.

It happens to all of us, even people who write books.
Writing is hard.
It will always be hard.
You can’t make it a habit because you have to think to write—at least if you’re writing something worth reading.

The real problem isn’t creating the perfect environment.

Often, you won’t be able to do that.
It would be a shame if you had to drink yourself into forgetfulness to write, right?
Or travel to the ocean to escape city noise.
The environment helps, but the problem is the pain from doing hard things.

You just don’t feel like it.

After all, you can write tomorrow.
Or not at all.
What’s the point, right?
What do you know that’s worth telling anyone?

Well, you might know something.

And to find out if it helps someone, write despite the pain.
Write despite reluctance.
Write despite fear and uncertainty.
Write to get it out of you, to earn, or sell your idea.
Write because it frees you.

And when you get stuck because you remember the shopping list, use these two ways to keep writing.

I know you have everything you need to deal with distractions within you.
Below are two complementary ways to help you with this task.

Nir Eyal Surfs the Urge

Everything changes.

Emotions and thoughts come and go.
Use this natural rhythm to let your cravings and distracting thoughts disappear.
When you stop doing what you planned, observe the urge.
This thought arrives like a wave.
It might be strong, but it soon passes.

Feel it, accept it, and let it pass.

Pause what you’re doing.
Give yourself time.
Just enough to return to work.
Nir Eyal uses this mantra then:

“This is what it feels like to get better at something.”

The wandering of the mind is natural, so instead of beating yourself up, observe what’s happening.

You can practice this anywhere.

Sit down and focus on your breathing for 5 minutes.
Soon cravings, thoughts about tomorrow’s dinner, or how you messed up on a date 10 years ago will jump at you.
Watch these thoughts and let them flow.

How?

Imagine your mind as a stage.
You stand on the stage and greet your thoughts, feelings, or desires.
And then you let them go.

If the stage is hard to picture, imagine your thoughts as clouds in the sky.
Clouds flow, and you let them, without engaging with their content.

Simple.

But the best thing is ahead.
What’s above is a way to surf the urge when it comes.
For that you need awareness.
Below is a method to notice distractions and handle them when they come, not when you’re doing what you planned.

Chris Bailey’s The Distraction List

In his book Hyperfocus, Chris Bailey describes The Distractions List.

Here’s how to use it:

• Keep pen and paper nearby while you work.
• When a distracting thought or feeling arises, write it down.
• Refocus on your task.
• After you finish, review The Distractions List:
  • What was it?
  • Why did it show up?
  • How can you deal with it?
• Take action if there is anything actionable.

By writing down what distracts you, you clear your mind.
You don’t need to stress about forgetting it because you have it on paper.
Reviewing the list and addressing what needs to be done ensures you take action.
This makes you calmer during focused work.

And all it takes is noting what comes to mind.

Having a Distractions List helps you identify which distractions occur most often.
For me, it’s sweets.
So when there are none at home, it’s easier for me to focus.

Summary

It’s normal you prefer scrolling funny pictures instead of working.

It’s normal everything comes to mind exactly when you’re trying to concentrate.
We all experience this.
It’s like fear, brave people don’t live without fear, they live despite it.
And you can live despite distractions, too.

All you need to do is understand how important internal cues leading to distractions are and let them pass instead of fighting them.

You’ll find the most persistent ones after reviewing a few distraction lists.
Then you’ll look for the right solution.
For everything else, believe that you can handle it.

I managed to handle it.
I achieve what I want.
I can write an article without constantly going back to 9gag.
Though I might pop over for some chocolate, the important thing is returning to work.

In short, I get shit done.

You can too.
Prepare your environment.
When you get distracted, note what it was and then Surf The Urge.

Surf towards your dream life as a writer.