Tips For Improved Concentration In Today’s Digital World
Here is an interesting article on the degradation of concentration in today’s digital world. The article popped up in my emails and caught my eye as I was sitting at my desk, diligently studying. Case in point. Of course, I immediately opened the article and read it and have now taken time to write this post about it.
The statistics are scary. The article quotes the results of studies in 2005, that ‘those distracted by emails and phone calls saw a 10-point fall in their IQ, twice that found in studies on the impact of smoking marijuana…Constant interruptions can have the same effect as the loss of a night’s sleep.’ That was then, now 13 years later we are even more connected to our emails and phones, for longer periods of time.
We actively need to manage the way we use our devices to increase our concentration (and save a few IQ points!), which in turn reduces our stress levels and increase our productivity.
I have a couple of tips for doing this, however better concentration, reduced stress and increased productivity won’t happen overnight. It will take a few weeks of consciously doing things differently for it to become second nature and to see the results.
Tip 1
Use the Do Not Disturb function on your mobile. Have it permanently set for a time in the afternoon/evening that you are comfortable with and set it to turn back on in the morning. For example, I have mine set from 8pm every evening to 7am each morning. 99% of the time if anything happens during those times, in regard to work, there is nothing that I could do to change the outcome. Even if I was required to email something to someone, there is not a chance that they could action it until after 7am the next morning. This function is customisable with settings that can be adjusted for phone calls allowing all some, none or even repeat ones in case of an emergency, messages, notifications, alarms and reminders.
Tip 2
Organise your day with two to three half or one hour blocks of time in your calendar dedicated to reviewing your emails and actioning them. It might be that you spend an hour first thing in the morning and then an hour after lunch and the last hour before you leave the office. By having regular times scheduled in your calendar you should not be missing any important information or anything that cannot wait a couple of hours to action. If it is urgent or a stop work/tools down situation you are more likely to be advised via the phone.
Tip 3
Always schedule in a lunch break. Even if it is to go for a walk around the block to clear your mind or mull over something, if you are time poor. It is amazing how much more productive you are when you return to your desk.
Tip 4
Schedule in time for activity. This could be yoga, gym, a walk, meditation, anything to stop and reset your mind and release endorphins. Often if we are struggling with a complex problem or a solution to an issue, taking a break will put some perspective on it. It will also help sleeping better at night, thus further reducing stress.
As I say, it takes a little bit of persistence and conscious effort to stop yourself from looking at your emails each time they come into your inbox day or night, turn the notification sound off if that helps, but in today’s digital world if we don’t schedule time in to organise our use then we will have no down time, which is not healthy.
Now… Im back to my studies!
Source: theguardian.com
