Attention thieves are all around us.

Have you ever found yourself in a situation where you just got a Facebook message or an email, and before you realize 30~40min are gone?! Returning to the original task takes you lot of time and effort. And then you get a call or whatever notification on your smartphone, and boom! An hour is gone! Your progress is slow. Creativity is dead.

You are not alone. Many of us face this issue.

Multitasking becomes the new normal. And I am bad at it, especially if I have to engage on a deep mental level.

People frequently check their social media, various news websites, and mail inboxes.

Psychologists call this FOMO (fear of missing out).

With time, this builds a lot of anxiety. Many people “live” in their mail inboxes, Facebook, and let incoming emails dictate their work productivity.

Is there a way out?

Let me share with you my recipe.

1. Build your plan around your creativity.

I block creative time in my calendar 3 to 6 months ahead of time. If you check my calendar, you will find it on every single day of the week (incl. Sat & Sun). I call it a CREATIVE TIME.

My calendar is visible to my colleagues. So, they can see any available slot.

2. Smartphone notifications. No, thank you!

During CREATIVE TIME, I mute my phone. As simple as that.

3. Quick chat with a colleague near the coffee machine. No, thank you!

Given that for the past several months, we work from home, this is an easy win.

However, when I was in an office, I used headphones to block any external noise.

4. Facebook / YouTube / Instagram / etc. No, thank you!

Avoid social media or any entertainment apps. I went even ballistic to uninstall all of those from my phone.

5. A meeting with my team or friends? No, thank you!

I make sure there are enough opportunities to talk to my family, friends, and colleagues. Usually, this happens after I am done with the CREATIVE TIME.

6. Let me get a snack. No, thank you!

Eating makes me lazy and slow. As soon as I finish with the CREATIVE part, I indulge myself with various delicious healthy snacks.

7. Can I browse the internet, if I am stuck? No, thank you!

I allow myself to seat in front of the computer during the CREATIVE TIME and do nothing. That is totally fine! After 5-10min of doing nothing, I become bored...and start to be creative. This eliminates the pressure and at the same time is extremely productive.

8. What is the time? No, thank you!

On my laptop, I have disabled the display of time & date. This minimizes the anxiety big time.

9. Laptop Apps. No, thank you!

On the “dock” I have enabled only the apps I use during my creativity. How about browser / MS office apps / calendar / face time / mail / voice assistant / Netflix / etc. No, thank you!

10. Kiss Goodbye Any Destruction. No, thank you!

Remember point #1? Nobody should interfere with your calendar when you have CREATIVE TIME. I know this sounds easy. In my case, it took me some time to educate my colleague and family.

How I did do that?

To everyone, I have told & shown that they can have my full attention when we have a mutually agreed meeting (virtual or face-to-face). I don’t let other things distract me. And they appreciate it!

What to do if you are at home?

I have a 3 years old kid. At the moment of this writing, we work from home due to the COVID-19 lock-down. No kinder garden. No grandparents around to support. No nanny!

“Instead of complaining about the circumstances, embrace the situation”

I have moved the CREATIVE slot early in the morning when to overlap with the sleeping time of my kid.

those are my simple steps in gaining back my CREATIVE TIME. I hope this can help you...or at least inspire you to make a change.

Everything is in your hands, even if you have to say “No, thank you!”