how not to get distracted

I just looked at a note I had written down to remind myself to call someone back. So I picked up my phone. Saw a text message, responded to that. Saw another text message come in while I was writing the first one. Read that one, didn’t respond. Then looked over at my first screen and saw my outlook was open and then remembered I needed to write an out-of-office message and then someone walked in that I had to talk to and now I’m just getting back to writing this.

So I think the answer is less screens.

There is something like threshold amnesia or the doorway effect, where walking through a doorway into a new room causes lapse in memory. There has to be that with screens. Especially interactive screens. Especially Especially with phones. There is so much to suck attention on a phone. It’s literally designed to steal your attention. Your attention has been monetized.

I’m getting distracted, talking about getting distracted.

I think when I’m the most successful at getting shit done is when I make a list and I don’t let myself move on to anything else until that task is done. Then I go to the next thing and I don’t let anything else happen until I get that done too. Even if I get momentarily distracted I have to return to that task. The phone becomes the reward when all the tasks are done.

Now to get back to what I was trying to get done in the first place.