According to science, it takes you 26 minutes to refocus your attention after an interruption.
Assuming that you get distracted once per working hour, you spend 208 minutes per day refocusing your attention.
That's 3.5 hours a day, 24.5 hours a week. In a year, it’s 1274 hours or 53 days i.e. 15 percent of your year.
Simply wasted.
Here's how you can prevent that:
Instead of letting your notifications control you, control your notifications.
In fact, I have notifications of every single app switched off. It ensures that I only check an app when I need to or feel like it.
I don’t need a reminder every time someone texts me or reacts to my post, it’s an attention killer.
Keep your phone and other distractions in another room altogether.
We hate expending efforts. The farther away distractions are, the less likely we are to make efforts to get that distraction.
Remember, 26 minutes every time you shift focus from one task to another.
Don’t multitask (unless you’re a juggler!). Focus on one single task for longer periods of time.
You’re also more likely to enter a “Flow state” this way (a mental state in which you’re fully immersed in an activity, feeling completely focused and energized)
You are bound to get distracted if you don’t set SMART goals.
SMART = Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-Bound goals
For example, instead of simply putting a task on your to-do list, schedule it for a specific day and time on your calendar.