Mental Fitness – How to Block Out the Distractions

Estimated Read Time: 2 minutes, 45 seconds

Did a friend forward this to you? You can subscribe here.

If you feel guilt for getting distracted, take comfort in knowing that the world is designed to distract you.

Today we’re talking mental fitness. Here’s what you need to know to spend less time on guilt and more time reclaiming your energy.  

A recent report highlighted that most workers can’t concentrate for 30 minutes straight—but that doesn’t tell the whole story. Our attention is worth hundreds of dollars per person per platform, which is why Google, Instagram, and TikTok are “free to use” but worth trillions.

The average smartphone user gets around 46 push notifications per day, picks up their phone 144 times, and navigates thousands of ads.

Dollars aside, here’s the real cost of losing our flow: productivity. It can take the average person ~23 minutes to get back on track after losing focus. If it happens three times a day, that’s an hour of lost work, family time, fitness, or whatever productivity means to you. 

To be fair, it’s not just our phones. Other factors steal our attention too—“quick chats” with coworkers, kids while WFH, and the myth of multitasking. (Spoiler: multitasking is a computer concept; it sadly doesn’t work for the human brain.) 

Bottom line: Don’t feel bad when the odds are stacked against you and beyond your control. When you get distracted, the feeling shouldn’t be guilt. It should be “game on.” 

Instead, consider this: what’s your go-to strategy when you need to block out the noise? 

“When I get distracted, I will do _____.” When you answer this, you’re reclaiming your time, investing in your performance, and living your life better. 

One Simple Thing: Customize your phone’s “Focus Mode” beyond “Do Not Disturb”

You can tailor which apps, calls, messages come through by day and time. For example, “Mon-Fri, 9:00am–12:00pm, Only Receive Messages from Family; Turn Off Notifications from News, IG, LinkedIn). In short, you choose what—and who—can interrupt you, and when. 

When worst comes to worst, literally take your phone off your desk. Out of sight, out of mind.

Pro Tip: 50 seconds left in this newsletter and you know that movement makes your mind better. Consider reading the rest in a wall sit (or plank if you’d like to level up). 

Dilagence on the Move 

Speaking: Closing keynote at the Women’s Leadership Conference at the Catawba Chamber of Commerce (Nov 14). Learn more or register here

Media: Missed my interview with Hilary DeCesare on the Relaunch Podcast? Check it out here

Dose of Dilan

How I Intentionally Forget My Phone:

Crosswords and logic puzzles in print. Murdle is my current favorite way to find screen freedom, and short puzzles are great ways to refocus.

What I’m Rewatching: 

Charmed (RIP Shannen Doherty) offers helpful reminders of what we did pre-smart phones. Reading in print, walking outside looking up—not down, and dining device-free are magical and will never go out of fashion.    

Where I Disconnected: 

Signal was sparse during my week at Modern Elder Academy in Santa Fe, New Mexico. The nature was incredible, and it can be nice to be forcibly unreachable.

The world is designed to distract you. Your job isn't to feel bad about it; it’s to be aware and have a plan for when it does. 

Thanks for reading! Follow me on LinkedIn for more productivity and well-being hacks and strategies, and if you know someone who’d benefit from this newsletter, invite them to subscribe here.