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With all the notifications you get on your smartphone, it’s no wonder you get distracted from what you’re doing.
In fact, your phone doesn’t need a notification to distract you. However, the mere presence of the phone, silent or not, is enough to distract you.
what happens? And most importantly, how can you regain focus without missing out on the important things?
Is it really that big of a deal?
When you look at the big picture, these rumors can really sway you.
While estimates vary, the average person checks their phone about 85 times a day or once every 15 minutes.
The problem is, it can take several minutes for him to fully regain focus.
And when you get distracted while watching TV, that’s okay.
But the trouble comes when you are driving, studying, working or spending time with your loved ones.
Two types of overlap
Sounds from your phone are considered “external interruptions”.
The sounds from our phones can make us feel excited, just like gamblers feel when they watch or hear the sound of slot machines.
What if your phone is on silent mode? Doesn’t this solve the problem? No.
This is another type of distraction, which is an internal interruption.
Think about any time you were working on a task but got distracted by your phone.
You may have resisted the urge to grab your phone and see what’s happening online… but you probably checked anyway.
These urges are strong.. Just reading an article about phone checking might make you want to look at your phone.
Give your mind a break
What do all these distractions mean for cognition and well-being?
There is growing evidence that notifications are linked to lower productivity, less concentration and more distraction at work and school.
And a study of people’s brainwaves found that those who used their phones a lot were more sensitive to ignoring notifications than those who didn’t use their phones often.
Frequent distractions can make you feel stressed about needing to respond and are also associated with an increase in FOMO, the fear of missing out.
And if your phone becomes distracting after responding to a specific notification, any subsequent stalling can leave you feeling guilty or frustrated.
And there’s certainly evidence to suggest that the more time you spend using your phone in unproductive ways, the less you value your well-being.
How can I stop?
We know that leaving your phone on silent won’t magically fix the problem, especially if you check it frequently.
It’s important to change your behavior, which is hard.
It may take several tries to see a permanent change. And if you’ve ever tried to quit smoking, lose weight, or start an exercise program, you’ll know what I mean.
For starters, you can turn off all non-essential notifications.
Here are some steps you can try if you want to reduce the number of times you check your phone:
- Charge your phone overnight in a room other than your bedroom. Notifications can keep you from sleeping and wake you up repeatedly throughout the night.
- Prevent yourself from checking your phone when you feel like it and think about whether this could be of any benefit to you. For example, when you try to pick up the phone, stop and ask yourself if this action has a purpose other than a distraction.
- Try the Pomodoro method to stay focused on your homework. You can divide your time into manageable chunks (say, 25 minutes), then reward yourself with a short break (say, to check your phone). Gradually increase the time between rewards. You may need some time to focus on your activities if you are one of those who use the phone a lot.
Article by Sharon Horwood, Senior Lecturer in Psychology at Deakin University in Australia. Horwood does not work for, own or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article and has not disclosed any relevant affiliations since his academic appointment.
The article is republished under the Creative Commons license from The Conversation.
