>> Why We Have This Emotion
Distraction is our attention scanning for anything more urgent than our current task. We might be preoccupied by a big threat, but we might also be responding to our noisy modern environments.
◎ What to do in the moment
Good Ideas
- List distracting thoughts for later
- Clarify one doable priority for now
- Close tabs, silence notifications
- Set a 10-minute focus timer, repeat
- “Focusing on something small right now doesn't mean the big stuff isn't important”
Bad Ideas
- Multitask across multiple projects
- Check all notifications immediately
- Work all day without real breaks
- Mistake being busy for productivity
- Blame yourself for getting distracted
- Treat distraction as laziness
- Leave tabs open “just in case”