The Inspiration Behind Finding Focus
Even though I have been chasing ghosts of self-improvement for a while, I still have not found yet a silver bullet to solve it all. The elusive mirage of “perfect performance” and the “ideal day” has felt like an impossible mission.
Recently, my job threw me a few curveballs, leaving me juggling at least three roles at once. This motivated me to refresh my knowledge on productivity, time management, and organizing a busy schedule.
Last week, I stumbled upon an interesting interview with Nir Eyal. Though the podcast was about procrastination, I found valuable insights that seemed to address the missing pieces in my quest for effectiveness. These insights have been extensively captured in Eyal’s book ‘Indistractable.’
Throughout the podcast, I had several “aha” moments, prompting me to delve deeper into the subject. Hopefully, I can now save you some time by highlighting the most important parts of Eyal’s framework. So let’s jump into how they might benefit you as well.
My Productivity Struggles and the Search for Solutions
As I’ve mentioned, habits and life hacks are only valuable once they actually stick and provide tangible benefits. Sometimes, we struggle to make them last, or they may not work for our specific circumstances. I’ve been guilty of this, constantly learning new techniques but failing to consistently act on them. This time, however, I intend to put Nir Eyal’s tactics and strategies to the test.
Chaos, lack of discipline, and lack of focus have always been my primary setbacks. I have been relying on last-minute pressure to get started, making copious notes only to misplace them, and ultimately falling back on my fallible memory. Over the years, I’ve tried to systematize and organize myself, yet the old mess inevitably creeps back in.
Currently, I juggle sticky notes, endless to-do lists, and a Microsoft Planner board, all in an attempt to keep up with my various work roles. But I still find myself in a state of distraction, derailing my productivity. I believed I was missing the right organizational skills, note-taking techniques, and time-management strategies to unclutter my life and thrive. That is why I was drawn to Eyal’s work.
The “Aha” Moments that Unlocked the Productivity Puzzle
The first “aha” moment during the interview was the realization that “the knowledge is not the problem, but rather is acting on what matters.” In our information-abundant age, if we lack knowledge, we can simply read a book, take a course, or search online. The real issue lies elsewhere.
The second, even more impactful “aha” moment was about the fact that “focus” is not the opposite of “distraction.” It’s not about fuzzy goals or missing organizational skills – those can certainly be helpful, but they’re not the fundamental issue. The true key is the act of quality, uninterrupted work, not just good intentions, to-do lists, or time management techniques.
The root problem, it seems, is that we often get in our own way, distracted by our own internal impulses and emotions. This revelation struck me as a profound insight, one that gets to the heart of the productivity puzzle.
Traction: The Antidote to Distraction
I know it may sound trivial, but bear with me – this insight is profound. The key realization is that “focus” is not the true opposite of “distraction.”
What counteracts “distraction” is the concept of “traction” – both of which are rooted in the concept of “action.” The crucial difference lies in the directionality of that action. Distraction pulls you away from your intended destination, while traction propels you towards it.
The distinction is simple, yet significant. It’s not just about setting a goal or task to solve, but whether the subsequent action helps you progress or leads to detours and diversions. This shift in perspective offers a powerful lens for understanding and addressing the challenge of staying on track.
Turn Distraction into Traction: Keep Your Productivity in Place
Another element to the puzzle is what he calls triggers. Those are all the things that tip off a distraction during your “action” state. Apparently, only 10% of them come from external sources. What shocked me is the remaining 90%, are the internal triggers!
Since we are emotional beings, subconsciously and intrinsically we all desire to escape discomfort. Hence, any distraction typically is an emotion regulation problem, that we did not resolve. We simply try to quietly escape from the feeling of discomfort meanwhile performing a task and this leads to procrastination/distraction.
Becoming Indistractable: A 4-Step Framework
According to Nir, the most important skill of the XXI century is the ability to follow through – not being distracted, or as he calls it “indistractable”. Personally, I couldn’t agree more with this sentiment, even though I don’t use much social media and haven’t always considered myself well-versed in the art of “traction.”
Becoming indistractable signifies a process of transforming your distractions into tractions that ultimately lead to focus and enhanced productivity. It involves four steps:
- Master Internal Triggers – acknowledge them so you can find a way around them;
- Make Time for Traction – prepare time for doing the work adequately chunked and well-framed, i.e. Pomodoro Technique;
- Hack Back External Triggers – find ways to reduce external disruptions;
- Prevent Distraction with PACTs – Prompt, Action Conversation, and Time – Nir’s framework to create tactics and strategies to mitigate unwanted disturbance.
In other words, those four steps aim to tackle distractions in order of their disruptiveness, from the most to the least disturbing. They are rooted in well-established productivity tactics, so there are no major surprises here. The final step adds Nir’s original method to help make it all truly stick for your long-term benefit.
While the PACT framework was not covered in explicit detail during the interview, it is quite intuitive. Since it builds upon best practices, so we won’t dwell too deeply on it here. Those four steps can be readily understood and applied through the practical tips covered in the next section.
Five Practical Tips to Overcome Procrastination and Distraction
Here are five tips, from Nir Eyal interview, that will help you to liberate yourself from distraction:
1. Notice What’s Driving Your Behavior
When the urge to scroll social media or procrastinate strikes, tune in to the internal discomfort you're seeking to escape - boredom, loneliness, anxiety, and write it down. Schedule time for later and process your real triggers. This will empower you to address the root cause and reduce future distractions.
2. Reframe Discomfort as an Opportunity
Successful people feel the same uncomfortable emotions as the rest of us. What sets them apart is they use negative feelings as "rocket fuel" to propel them towards their goals. Reframing discomfort as happening FOR you, not TO you, keeps you in control.
3. Proactively Plan Your Time – Use Calendar
Divide your day into time-boxed segments based on your values, with a slot for processing worries or enjoying unproductive downtime. Deciding in advance how you want to spend your time protects against getting pulled into reactive mode by endless to-dos and enables you to process your distractions at the right time.
4. Defend Your Focus
During times reserved for focused work, be ruthless about removing external triggers like email notifications, chat apps, and even clutter in your environment. Wear a "concentration crown" (e.g. headphones) to signal to others you're indistractable at the moment.
5. Remember, You Are in Control
Addiction is a serious disease, but feeling hooked on your devices does not mean you're powerless. Buying into a narrative of victimhood only breeds learned helplessness. Remind yourself that with the right skills and mindset, you have agency over your attention.
Evaluating the Critiques of the Indistractable Approach
Even though my eureka moments might sound trivial, I found the missing key to my puzzle. While learning and writing this post, I have read some critiques of Nir’s ‘Indistractable‘ book. Reviewers acknowledge some valuable “aha” moments in the earlier parts of the book. However, the main complaints centered around the perceived triviality and repetitiveness of the rest of the content.
Another criticism worth highlighting is that the productivity tips and examples presented have already been covered extensively in many other sources. Admittedly, using a calendar is not a novel idea. However, the book’s value may lie in helping readers make these well-known techniques truly stick as part of their routine.
My Plan of Action and Final Thoughts
At the moment, I am quite busy and not sure if I will find time to read Nir’s book. Regardless, I believe I have already started to connect the dots on what distraction is. Despite knowing about it for less than a week, I have already reduced my mental clutter by writing down distractions and addressing them afterward. As a result, my output per unit of time has already increased.
Nonetheless, I am committed to further exploring some of Nir’s tips. Concurrently, I have also revisited the classic book “Goals” by Brian Tracy. This guide can lead you through a deep retrospective using Brian’s pragmatic framework. In this way, I aim to bring extra clarity to my life, which I can then boost with enhanced productivity, thanks to the insights from ‘Indistractable‘.
Reclaiming Your Focus: The Path to Personal Freedom
The path to personal freedom begins from within. By learning to cope with discomfort, planning ahead, and believing in our own power, we can break free from distraction and more fully own our lives and time. Becoming indistractable puts you back in the driver’s seat, able to live with intention and in alignment with your values. Start reclaiming your focus today by taming your traction, one small habit at a time.
Are you ready to reclaim your focus and unleash your full potential? What are your struggles with your productivity or distractions? Let me know in the comments below how you cope with your internal distractions!