Is Your Phone a Distraction?

Phones have become a huge part of our lives. Not having your phone with you for even a day causes a lot of problems because we have started relying on this one device for a lot of things. It has made it easier for us to have a lot of tools in one small device – it is like magic at the tip of your fingers.

While we all agree that phones have made our lives easier, what many have started questioning now is what new issues have cropped up because of that. There are side effects to access use of everything, our cell phones are no different.

With busy lives, the added stress of social media and the FOMO makes going about your day very difficult – this is currently one of the major drawbacks that have been affecting many people emotionally and mentally.

You check your phone for one notification and fall down the rabbit hole of randomness, and somehow hours go by. Productivity stays at a standstill. You keep reading for ways to increase your productivity and decrease your distractions, that too, on your phone, ironically. Somehow, again, while reading up on something to help, you end up on sites that do nothing more than help you waste your time.

Using your phone for hours distracts you from your work, which in turn, stops you from being productive. Not only that, it gives you FOMO, negatively influences you, creates a false sense of a perfect lifestyle, etc.

Don’t get me wrong; I understand the advantages because most of my work is digital. I also understand how important social media is for entrepreneurs who are building a presence for their business online. My point here is the moderation of the usage of not only social media but your phone as well. 

We all know, using something more than intended does more harm than good, moderation is the key. You might go to do some work, and might need to look up something, but somehow you get sucked into the void i.e. the Internet. Research says that a typical office worker needs at least 25 minutes to get back to their original work after an interruption.

The continuous pings – of notifications going off – you hear are the biggest distraction throughout the day. When it is even remotely associated with work, it is much easier to convince ourselves that we have to check it. Most of the times, it isn’t that urgent.  You get so used to it that sometimes even the ringing of your doorbell leads you to reach for your phone. It is very important to shut it down for the period of time you are working to maintain a high level of productivity.

As Gretchen Rubin says, “Turn off your email; turn off your phone; disconnect from the Internet; figure out a way to set limits so you can concentrate when you need to, and disengage when you need to. Technology is a good servant but a bad master.”