What Can You Do When You Can’t Do Anything

Put your distractions to your benefit

My morning hours are completely packed and taken over by my dog, Kira.

We begin with her morning snack followed by a long walk where she sniffs the hell out of nature and socializes with other dogs. When we are back, I need to prepare both of our breakfasts and get ready for work.

On alternate days I need to slide in my workout as well.

But this experience gets ruined sometimes when instead of waking up to do the right thing I end up picking up my phone for mindless browsing.

It gets worse if I carry my phone on our walks because instead of watching her and enjoying the morning hour, I end up watching random videos on my phone.

Lately, I make sure I leave the phone behind. Unfortunately, it took me a long time to get past this distraction even after knowing its cons.

While it is true that starting the morning right has a huge impact on the rest of the day, this alone does not guarantee a productive or unproductive day.

We tend to get distracted throughout the day for different reasons such as:

• Boring job
• Monotonous routines
• Demotivating surroundings

While the reasons mentioned above are very superficial, I think getting distracted has a deeper meaning:

• Undefined goals, you are struggling to find your purpose and do not know where to head.
• Forgetting about the process and agonizing over the result.
• Overconfidence to do multitasking and failing to achieve every task at hand.
• Lack of discipline and determination.

Several proven approaches teach how to break free from distractions and get back on the path.

For now, those approaches are out of the scope of this article, but what I want to talk about is: what do I do when I am distracted and struggling to get any work done?

I call it using distraction against my distraction.

1/ Use technology against technology!

First things first, you will have to tear apart from your most favorite gadget, which in most cases will be your phone.

It is indeed the greatest source of distraction created by mankind, for mankind.

On most days, your phone is more alive than you are and does its job better than you do.

• Unstoppable notifications.
• Silent cries to check your social media.
• Trained reflexes that keep fidgeting with the phone.

All these factors release dopamine and induce momentary happiness. But one notification can cascade into another and take over all your productive hours. Your mental health also gets impacted when you fall behind the planned work and life events.

So even if you want to get use your day for a smaller or bigger purpose, staying away from the phone can be a great start.

Here are some of the things that helped me with my phone addiction:

1. Switching off phone notifications:

Sometimes curbing the trigger point of distraction can save your day. Most of the app notifications on my phone are always silent, except for phone calls so if needed family and friends can easily reach out to me.

However, once the work hours are done, I check other messaging and social media apps.

I am not 100% there yet with this habit, but things have drastically improved.

2. Zen Mode:

This has been a life savior when switching off notifications did not help because of my compulsive behavior. So yes, if you struggle with curios kitten syndrome (there is no such syndrome) like I used to, Zen mode and similar apps are your best friends.

On my last phone it was an in-built feature where you can choose focused hours and click to start, you will be locked out of your phone except for emergency calling.

This feature has helped me expedite many work deliverables within half of the time that I would have taken.

3. This one is more of a disciplined approach. Monitoring time spent on different apps can be solid data to validate the areas you need to work on. If there is a particular application that is eating most of your time, you will have to get rid of that my friend!

2/ Choosing the right thing to do

When I don’t seem to get the work done, I don’t force myself to do it if I can afford to (and pray the sky does not fall and my manager does not call me.).

In the absence of any urgency, I take the liberty to use my distractions to do the right thing, anything that adds value to my day, to my personal traits or just makes me happy.

· Reading a book has always been my first choice.

· Listing ideas for writing the next article.

· Researching the above list

· I would say meditating, but I end up sleeping, so does that count?

· This may seem like not an ideal option, but I am no life expert or self-help coach. I consume content on OTTs because there are some great shows out there you should not miss.

3/ Cooking is the most underrated life-changing skill

It is funny that as a kid I never liked cooking but when I grew up and started living on my own, cooking came to be like an epiphany.

After that, cooking, especially baking has been there for me through intense stressful work weeks, break ups, fallouts with friends and families, etc. While cooking, I have always found myself worrying about the ingredient measurements rather than the number of life problems I need to solve.

I believe cooking is the most underrated remedy for curing mental health, mood swings, or just simply lifting your spirits when the day is not going well.

Cooking has several benefits including the following:

· It saves you money! I would like to think this does not need any further explanation.

· It helps you meditate. Cooking is a mindful practice where you find peace amidst the noise of vegetable chopping, burner hissing, and utensils quaking. These noises quiet the negative voices in your head.

· It boosts creativity. Cooking is a freeform art that allows you to whip up basic to fancy meals. You learn to experiment and take risks, you become open to failing and learning. It is also an impactful mind simulation exercise concluded by moments of gratification.

· As you disconnect from the outer world, it boosts feelings of peace, happiness, relaxation, confidence, and self-awareness.

Maybe distraction, if addressed, is just a break that your mind, and body needed but you were too afraid to take because of constant pressure to be productive.

On the days when you are not feeling up for it, taking a break should be a natural solution. You don’t have to feel guilty about it. The break does not necessarily mean a vacation, but it can just be a day of rest.

Taking regular breaks amidst your hectic lifestyle can help subside periods of distraction and keep you focused for a long time. Other benefits include improved physical and mental health, sharp decision-making skills, and an unstoppable & productive mind.

Spoil yourself sometimes with these relaxed & purposeful breaks, taste the freedom of nothingness, and come back with a well-rested head space.

Hope this helped and thank you for reading.

TC,

P.