#71. Regain Focus In A Distracted World
Escape The Distraction Trap With Flow And Deep Work
Welcome to the blog post #71! Click here to read more from previous posts.
Have you ever opened your email with the intention of finishing a single task and then found yourself lost in messages an hour later?
Or perhaps you try to write an important report, but your phone notifications derail your concentration for the next 30 minutes?
If this sounds familiar, you're not alone.
In our connected world, digital distractions are a constant battle. Technology, while enhancing our productivity, also presents a paradox. It allows us to accomplish more, yet leaves us feeling constantly behind.
Reason? Our dwindling attention spans.
In 2015, Time magazine published an article titled "You Now Have a Shorter Attention Span Than a Goldfish”. It indicated that people had an attention span of 8 seconds. Remember, at that time, platforms like TikTok did not even exist. Now, the abundance of short content on social media platforms is further dividing our focus.
Why Are We Losing Concentration?
Lack of Deep Work Due to Constant Distractions
Have you ever felt overwhelmed with messages, emails, and pending tasks? You plan your workday with a list of tasks, but at the end of the day, you realize you haven’t accomplished what you intended. Instead, you’ve been busy with unplanned activities.
The digital age has brought us new and faster ways of communicating. It increases our productivity when we can work and communicate from anywhere at any time. But we are spending most of our time on shallow work.
When our screens pop up an email or a message notification, we impulsively read it right away. Our need for constant communication makes it difficult to focus on complex tasks, which are the very tasks that lead to meaningful results.
The Myth of Multitasking
Contrary to popular belief, multitasking may not be the productivity booster we assume it to be. In the book "Quality Software Management: Systems Thinking," Gerald M. Weinberg emphasizes the negative impacts of multitasking on productivity and work quality. Though written in the context of software management, its principles are universally applicable.
Weinberg highlights the cognitive limitations of the human brain, which is not designed to handle multiple tasks simultaneously without a decrease in efficiency.
Every switch between tasks incurs a cognitive cost. This cost includes time and mental effort to reorient and refocus on the new task, leading to overall reduced productivity.
Charts from the article by the Software Engineering Institute at Carnegie Mellon University reveal a surprising fact. The more projects a team member handles simultaneously, the more lost time is incurred due to context switching.
For instance, if a person is involved in five projects simultaneously, the dedicated time per project drops to less than 5% due to high context switching costs.
How Do We Regain Our Concentration at Work?
There are several techniques we can apply to increase our focus time and reduce task switching:
Time Blocking: Block time in the calendar to focus on a specific task. We can also reserve a private time slot every day, designating it as meeting-free time.
Task Batching: Group similar tasks together and complete them in one focused session. It minimizes the context switching time, allowing us to stay in a focused state longer and improving our efficiency.
Pomodoro Technique: It’s the time management method that gives us 25 minutes to focus on a specific task and 5 minutes to break. This structure creates a sense of urgency to maintain concentration and avoid multitasking. A short break after completing a task provides a sense of achievement and prevents burnout.
Whatever techniques you apply, minimizing distractions (silencing notifications, turning off email alerts, etc.) during your work time is critical for effective time management.
However, merely applying time management techniques is not enough. Our goal is to achieve higher quality and find more satisfaction in our work, which brings us to the concept of combining flow and deep work.
Flow: The State of Effortless Focus
Flow is the term coined by psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi in his book “Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience”. Flow describes a state of complete immersion in a task, where time seems to fly by and distractions fade away. At that time, our minds and hearts are fully engaged in a task in a delightful and effortless way.
To reach the flow state, there are some requirements:
Clear Goals: Set achievable and clear goals for the task to stay focused.
Immediate Feedback: Seek activities with immediate feedback loops to stay engaged and adjust our approaches.
Skill Challenge: Balance size of challenge and skill level. The task should be stimulating but not overwhelming.
Minimize Distractions: Eliminate distractions to fully immerse ourselves in the activity.
For example, when observing a musician playing a violin, you can sense her flow state. She is entirely focused on the music, the feel of the instrument, and her performance. Her only goal is to play the piece beautifully, and the enjoyment of playing is her reward. Immersed in the performance, she loses track of time and complexity, moving smoothly and coordinatedly. In the flow state, she is completely absorbed in the music, forgetting the outer world.
The graph below from Positive Psychology illustrates the growth journey, showing that flow is the balance between the size of the challenge and skill level. Defining a challenging but achievable goal that matches your skill set is crucial. It’s like Goldilocks’ standard: not too hard, not too easy, just right.
Source: Positive Psychology
Deep Work: Focused Work on High-Value Tasks
Popularized by Cal Newport in his book “Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World,” deep work involves dedicating uninterrupted time to demanding tasks that produce significant results.
It requires:
Schedule Deep Work Sessions: Block out dedicated time slots in our calendars, treating them as important appointments.
Distraction-Free Environment: Just like Flow state, it’s the prerequisite. Silence notifications, eliminate phone calls, and find a quiet space to minimize distractions.
Extended Focus: Aim for at least 90 minutes of uninterrupted focus to truly delve into the task.
Clear Goals: Identify the specific high-value task we want to complete during the session.
How to Synergize Flow and Deep Work for Peak Performance?
Flow can occur in both professional and leisure activities and is associated with enjoyment and intrinsic motivation.
Deep work, on the other hand, is specifically oriented towards professional and intellectual productivity and is often driven by extrinsic goals such as career success and achievement.
Flow is induced by balancing skill and challenge in any activity. Deep work is induced by creating an environment free of distractions and dedicating time to focused work.
Both flow and deep work involve intense focus and concentration. Achieving a state of deep work can often lead to the experience of flow, as the uninterrupted and challenging nature of deep work aligns with the conditions needed for flow. So both of them can complement each other beautifully.
We can start our deep work session with a flow-oriented activity to get focused and ease into the more demanding task. For example, a brainstorming session to let us freely write ideas on the whiteboard or mind-map potential approaches can help transition into deep work easily.
In addition, achieving flow during a deep work session also amplifies its benefits. We'll experience even greater focus, leading to higher quality work and a more rewarding experience.
In the digital age, reclaiming our attention amidst distractions is challenging but achievable. By implementing these strategies and creating an environment for flow and deep work, we can reclaim our attention and achieve peak performance.
Remember, it's a journey, not a destination. Start with small changes today, and gradually build habits that help us take back our attention and make the most of our time.
It’s all for today. Till next week!
Cheers,
Do Thi Dieu Thuong