be able to focus on study or carrying out activities is one of the most important skills to achieve results. It sounds like a simple skill, but on days when distractions reign supreme, it becomes quite a challenge.
The lack of focus has already become an outbreak among people and distractions are the enemy of productivity. Therefore, it is essential to reduce and even remove them. Shall we go deeper into this topic?
Distractions: understand what types are
To rescue the ability to stay focused, we must first identify which distractions hijack our attention. There are two types of distractions:
1) External
Smartphones, notifications, social media, news, emails, WhatsApp, television, games and noises around us.
If the cell phone is on our side, we will inevitably be hooked, interrupting the flow of concentration. Social networks have magnets, they were created to stimulate our brain, because they release high amounts of dopamine. And what does dopamine do?
It is a neurotransmitter that carries information from the brain to various parts of the body. It is known as one of the hormones of happiness and, when released, it creates a feeling of pleasure, satisfaction and increases our motivation. In other words, social networks are like the “siren song”.
The brain wants easy stimuli, quick rewards and barrier-free pathways. It’s just that our daily activities rarely promote the instant gratification that social media offers.
Another source of distraction are the open tabs in the notebook, such as: email, social networks, Zoom instant messages, Teams, Skype, WhatsApp, Slack and so on.
As they are external, the way out is to stay away from the resources that cause distractions. The more difficult it is to access what distracts us, the greater the chance of staying focused.
When we need to concentrate, we can spend about 15 to 30 minutes disconnected, right?
2) Internal
Thoughts, fears, anguish, memories, anxiety, stress.
Our mind is a constant source of distractions, especially in the form of thoughts. According to Buddhism, our mind is like a monkey jumping from branch to branch, that is, from thought to thought.
A mind that jumps from branch to branch like a monkey expends too much energy. Therefore, the path is to learn to calm it down and constant meditation helps to reduce this flow of thoughts. Another habit, which acts positively on thoughts, is writing a diary, as we release all thoughts in a notebook. When we write them down, including to-do lists, we clear our minds and save our energy.
Finally, the mind should never be seen as a warehouse to store thoughts and ideas, especially the negative ones, but rather as a generator of high quality thoughts and ideas!
Do you feel like you need help incorporating habits, exposing yourself, or do you have other learning difficulties? The team at @verbify.oficial, a company in the Companhia de Idiomas group, is offering 5 spots in our free mentorship on Learning to Learn, for readers of this column (just mention that you saw the tips on Exame.com). Contact us directly by DM or by email: [email protected]
About the author
Lígia Velozo Crispino, founding partner of Companhia de Idiomas (https://www.companhiadeidiomas.com.br). Graduated in Letters and Translation from Unibero. Business English course in Boston at ELC and extensions in the Marketing area at ESPM, FGV and Insper. Co-author of the Guide for the Implementation of Language Programs in Companies and author of the book of poems Fora da Linha. Cultural mobilizer at the head of Sarau Conversar, co-founder of Instituto Velô. Volunteer mentor for the NTT Data Foundation and the Reciclar Program Columnist for the magazine VocêRH. Hobbies: watercolor and photography. Want to talk to me? [email protected]
