5 Science-Backed Tips on How to Not Get Distracted Anymore

It’s so easy for your focus to get caught up in the million things. Because in our day and age, we are constantly surrounded by information and triggers that take away our concentration. That’s why knowing how to not get distracted is important.

With the right guidance, tools, and practice, you can reconnect with your focus and be present in any activity you pursue. This is where Nir Eyal can be of help.

As a leading expert in the field of focus and habit formation and the trainer of Mindvalley’s Becoming Focused and Indistractable Quest, he can help you understand more about:

Energy flows where attention goes, as they say. With that same sentiment, we are what we pay attention to. So to be all the things you want to be and make your dreams come true, it’s best to know the ins and outs of how to not get distracted.

Why Do You Keep Getting Distracted?

Humans are creatures of habit. Therefore, if you learned at some point that using distraction would keep you safe and away from pain, chances are that you’re likely to repeat that unconscious pattern.

According to Nir, “We crave the relief from feeling bad, rather than feeling good, or getting a reward.” The root cause of all distractions, he explains, is that at some point in time, we found relief from pain by doing something else we didn’t necessarily want to do. 

Take, for example, a situation where someone suffered from bullying in high school. In order to cope with the pain, their distraction was overeating so they could emotionally regulate their discomfort.

However, now, even if the situation is over, your brain doesn’t know the difference between the pain that has passed and what you currently have to focus on. So anytime you may feel discomfort, the desire to move away from pain will do anything to distract you from feeling bad, even though you rationally acknowledge how that short-term pain could give you long-term results.

Additionally, studies have found that technology plays a huge role in the length of our attention span. Because the human brain is wired to focus on its surroundings and absorb information from them, social media changes our perception of reality nowadays.

In other words, the brain is not easily accustomed to being bombarded with information from the news, Instagram feeds, countless WhatsApp messages, or emails.

Distraction vs. traction

A powerful insight Nir shares in his Mindvalley Quest, is the concept that the opposite of distraction is traction rather than focus.

The root of both words “distraction” and “traction” comes from a Latin word meaning “to pull.” So traction is anything that pulls you in the direction of what you want to achieve, while distraction takes you in the opposite direction of what you want to do.

As mentioned, the motivation beyond your distractions is about moving away from your pain, you can learn to cope differently and rise above it. However, before you do so, it’s essential to note what triggers your discomfort in the first place.

Internal vs. External Distractions

When he realized the way technology affected his life, Nir tried to do a “media detox” to cut back on what was taking him away from the present moment. However, he soon acknowledged that social media was just one factor that would distract him.

Only now, even though it wasn’t technology anymore, the same pattern kept repeating itself. He would get distracted by books, doing chores around the house, or random thinking patterns that would overwhelm him.

He started noticing that the triggers for losing focus are of two types:

• Internal. Thought patterns, emotions, stress, worries, internal dialogues, and so on and so forth.

• External. Anything that is outside you. Your phone ringing, your inbox getting emails, the dog barking, kids crying, etc.

The problem of distractions has as much to do with us as it has to do with the distractions in our environment.

— Nir Eyal, trainer of Mindvalley’s Becoming Focused and Indistractable Quest

It’s important to understand that it’s impossible to completely remove all distractions. But what you can do instead is have the right tools and inner mechanisms to control your attention in a healthy and effective way.

Nir Eyal’s Tips to Beat Distractions

Nir encourages everyone to ask themselves, “What kind of biases, habits, and patterns of thinking distract us from the lives we want to live?”

And when you get crystal clear on those answers, you can try out these few tips on how to become more and more indistractable.

The essential skill of our century is how to become indistractable.

— Nir Eyal, trainer of Mindvalley’s Becoming Focused and Indistractable Quest

1. Bring awareness to your distractions

A good place to start when learning how to focus is by becoming conscious of what is actually distracting you. So you can try out this exercise for one day, where you write down all the internal and external triggers that made you lose concentration.

Additionally, Nir recommends that you also write down a few reflections about:

• One thing you did today that moved you closer to what you really want and the benefit you received from that action.

• One thing that moved you away from what you really wanted and the benefit that you lost for taking that action. For example, because you kept checking your emails, you weren’t fully present when spending time with someone you love.

Being conscious of your actions and their consequences moves you closer to the change you’re looking for.

2. Use discomfort as rocket fuel

When you feel those internal triggers creating discomfort, reflect on how you can use them to accelerate your growth. As Nir explains, by reflecting on what went wrong and how to rectify it, people may discover alternative strategies for their behavior.

He also advises that you write down a few things that made you feel dissatisfied today and focus on that feeling. Once you have done so, think of one or two solutions that you can apply when you feel that dissatisfaction again. 

How can you use it to trigger change through your discomfort?

3. Shift your mindset

Performance depends on your thinking process. And according to Nir, “changing our mindset about our temperament is the key to becoming indistractable.” 

Why? Because people who are more self-compassionate experience a greater sense of well-being.

To notice what “bad labels” you put on yourself, you can ask the following questions:

• Do you harbor any self-defeating beliefs about your abilities? Write down any labels you attach to yourself and consider whether they are actually serving you.

• How would you respond to a good friend who has experienced a setback? Write down what you would say to them if they failed to do something you tend to get distracted doing.

• How does your response to yourself at moments of setback or failure make you feel about yourself? Can you console yourself with the same words you’d offer a friend? Think about how can you change your future response to yourself to be more self-compassionate.

When you give yourself kindness and compassion, you may soon notice that your patterns of self-sabotage and procrastination slowly fade away.

How to Not Get Distracted While Studying

Even in situations where you do enjoy the subject of your study, you can get caught up in the boredom of the process itself. For example, you may find yourself checking your phone, getting a snack, or just staring at the walls and reconsidering your life choices. 

If this resonates with you, you can try using time-blocking strategies after applying a few of the mind principles discussed before. It could be a life-changing technique on how to not get distracted while doing homework or studying for an exam.

What this means is that you dedicate time in your schedule to a specific activity and only that one. So, for instance, if you need to go through 100 pages of modern history, you can block out separate time for reading, extracting essential information, and then revising. 

You can use this method when learning how to not get distracted when reading, writing an essay, or just going through your notes.

How to Not Get Distracted at Work

It’s common for people to get distracted at work, due to the repeated routine they find themselves in. For this reason, Nir recommends finding ways to reimagine your tasks. 

He explains that as kids, we loved to play and as adults, well, nothing changed. We still love to play.

So fun, play, and novelty still contribute to how focused you can get on a specific task.

Just think about various ways you can tackle an activity you’re always distracted from when performing. Ask yourself:

• What can you do to reimagine the task to make it feel more like play?
• What small challenges, constraints, or novelty can you add to make it fun?

You’ll see that even by changing a tiny bit the way you approach an activity, it may seem like you’re spending a completely different amount of time. 

As the famous saying goes, when you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change. Give it a try and see for yourself.

Awaken Your Indistractable Self

Once you get a glimpse of how focused, present, and productive your indistractable self is, you’ll realize that learning how to not get distracted is worth every step of the way. And Mindvalley can guide you back to your unlimited power within. 

With transformational Quest, such as Becoming Focused and Indistractable by Nir Eyal, you can explore more about:

• Mastering your internal triggers,
• Hacking your external triggers,
• Making time for traction,
• Preventing distractions with pacts, and
• Making your workplace indistractable.

By claiming your free access, you can sample classes from this program and many others. And the best part of it all is that you get to join a community of people who may share your hopes and struggles along the way.

Give yourself the chance to live your best life. Your indistractable self is waiting for you.