Ever read those cliché quotes all being like “We wander for distraction, but we travel for fulfillment”? Earlier those just earned a gigantic eye roll from my side. But now that I look back at all those times I pooh-poohed at every cheesy quote, I notice they do have a grain of truth in them. I mean, truly, if we’re honest, distractions do distract. No matter how much I say that I’m working on a blog post, deep down I know that I am not. I’m just brazenly watching an adorable video of kittens climbing over each other in the next tab.
But hey, to conquer, you must live up to your FULL potential. That means cutting distractions. Not procrastinating. Which includes depriving yourself of cat videos. Fine. Let’s close off that tab and get done with this article.
But wait, why do you need to distract yourself from distractions? (Ha, I’m so funny).
Because, that’s NOT conquering. You are not giving your work your 100%. What could’ve been done in an hour, you’re spending 3 hours on. For all my basic hoes out there, it basically means depriving yourself of even more cat videos because you’re stuck writing a 10 page essay that Miss Honey assigned. You feel me?
Now we come to the fun part of the post - cutting ‘em distractions. And I promise, that tab is still closed.
Hacking at distractions (hacking, because I love fancy words) can be put into two categories:
Short Term Methods -
These are the methods you’ll find in almost every other post about distractions. As the name goes, it involves removing distractions physically. They might not build any values like discipline but are great if you still haven’t completed your essay (Mate. Miss Honey will whoop yo’ ass. Get your shit together). Here are some ideas I personally use -
- The traditional way of turning to pen and paper. This is a bit tedious, but works wonders. Got notes to write for a chapter? Bring out that spiral bound notebook you bought ages ago! Gotta make a to-do? Grab this super cute and run-for-your-money-I’m-starving-now planner! Sometimes the old ways are magic. So, ditch the electronics and pick up your pen.
- Blocking. If you HAVE to (like lowkey a zombie apocalypse will start if you don’t, those kind of situations) try blocking off sites using apps like Cold Turkey and FocusMe.
- Clean out your place. A clean room = a clean mind = more focus. Also, a clean room, a clean mind, why hasn’t a rapper made a song about it already?
- Move away. I heard Antarctica is cool at this point in time (I’m so punny, like wow). Nah, just kidding! Grab your stuff, beat your chest like Tarzan, play the Rocky theme song and head to a local library (or cafe, if you feel fancy). Or if you’re a lazy house snob like me, sit outside in the balcony and get your shit done.
Long Term Methods -
Aha (knowing grin), now we come to the REAL post. Gosh, I feel old, what, have 84 years passed already? The long term methods are REAL methods. They instil values of determination and self control among others. They might not work if you have to submit an essay by midnight (MATE. Are you still here?!) as they take some time for their effects to show, but are very beneficial if you want to succeed. Here are two ways to do the same -
1. The cutting down every distraction method: I’ll admit, that’s a lame-ass name. But this is the #1 secret to focused work. My best friend and I have this monthly thing in which we cut down our YouTube subs. It’s a challenge honestly since both of us are obsessed with, duh, YouTube. She’s currently at 9 subs while I am at 5 subs (if you’re reading this Prash, I win!). In this, you slowly start LIMITING your distractions. It’s not easy, (ask me, I came down from 92 subs) but in the end you remove huge time wasters in your life. Look into where you spend your most time. Maybe it’s reading fanfics? Try limiting yourself to 1 chapter a day and so on. Maybe it’s YouTube? Cut down your subs (wow, maybe cat videos aren’t that fun). Or it’s Netflix? Try limiting yourself to x episodes a week. Slowly, you’ll see that the sites you used to waste your time on, weren’t worth it. You can use it to do so many new things.The opportunities are just waiting to be grabbed, darling.
2. The Buddha mindset: Aha! (Knowing grin, part two). You can block all the sites you want, or use as many productivity and time tracker apps as you want, but you won’t grow as an individual unless you learn to control your mind. I get it, everyone deserves time off. I love having movie nights inside a fort made of bed-sheets that are a couple hundred years old and have about a thousand food stains on them. You can do them too (ok no, first do your laundry); however, learn to know the difference between taking days off to take care of yourself and just being lazy. What I’m basically getting at is, distractions will ALWAYS be there. Heck, you’ll even find yourself making up your own distractions to not do the work. “Mom please, that corner on my bed sheet has like only three stains, it can be used for another week.” You need to train your brain to get past those lame ass excuses. “I’m the second biggest snake on slither.io, gimme a minute.” “I need to watch Kalyn’s OOTD video.” Distractions are like you stalking your ex on insta. Grow up. Your ex wasn’t even that hot anyway.
Now obviously, you’re rolling your eyes, all like “Hoe, how.” Well, I don’t know. It’s an ongoing struggle, if I’m honest. Sometimes it means forcing yourself to do things because nobody likes Miss Honey’s mock tests. In the end though, it all comes down to discipline and convincing yourself that cat videos are so 2017.
2018 has new surprises for us anyway.
And that’s it, that’s a wrap! If you have any questions/suggestions regarding anything I said up there, feel free to send in a message! My other articles are here and to request one, leave your question in my ask box!
I hope you all are well, stay safe and conquer life, you conqueror. (´｡• ᵕ •｡`) ♡
