This week I heard an interview with Nir Eyal, author of the book indistractable: How to Control Your Attention and Choose Your Life. The message from this author was slightly different than the other authors on navigating the distraction age we live in. Most talk about how software apps are designed to distract you. I’ve even written about it myself. And that is true. Nir gets into why we accept being distracted. And it’s fascinating.

The author asked the podcast audience what the opposite of distraction is. In my head I answered ‘focus’. And Nir said that it’s not focus, it’s traction. He said this:

distraction – actions that move us away from what we really want

traction – actions that move us toward what we really want

Nir Eyal, indistractable

Action binds those two words together. I liked where he was going with his treatment of distraction.

He also talked about how time management is pain management. This is the concept that really drew me in. We allow ourselves to be distracted when we are uncomfortable. For the last week I’ve increased my awareness of when I feel the urge to be distracted and my comfort level at that moment. The more I don’t want to do something the more distractions I can find to keep me from moving towards what I really want and need to do.

Nir’s suggestion is to become aware of when you want to be distracted. Here’s the powerful part. Don’t tell yourself you can’t be distracted. Tell yourself “not yet.” Set a timer for 10 minutes and either go about the task you need to focus on, or sit with the discomfort (honestly I haven’t tried the latter yet). When the timer goes off check if you still feel the urge for distraction. When I put this into practice this week I found that most of the time at the end of 10 minutes I did not feel the need for the distraction any longer.

Did this method reduce all the times I wanted to distract myself? No, but I’m still working on it. Nonetheless, this is a powerful approach to focusing on what is important, even if what is important is uncomfortable.

I haven’t read his book yet, but it’s now on my wish list. If you get to it first, let me know how it goes 😊

engineer your life

  • Listen to the interview with Nir Eyal. You can find it on the Building a Story Brand with Donald Miller podcast, episode #216: Nir Eyal – The Secret to Staying Focused at Work.
  • Become aware of when you are distracted. What is your comfort level at that time? Set a timer for 10 minutes. When the timer expires ask yourself if you still feel the need to be distracted.