Say you’re working at your computer with your smartphone on the desk. The phone gives a sound alert – you have a new SMS. Would you continue working or stop and check the smartphone? This decision has a vast impact on the productivity of your work.
We face distractions every day
The vast majority of us would choose the latter option. An SMS is usually more exciting than whatever we’re working on. However, distraction is the enemy of success. When you devote all your attention to some meaningful work, you reach a state of consciousness which psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi calls "flow". This is a state of mind whereby you lose track of time and become completely absorbed in your activity.
Impact is massive loss in productivity
All digital distractions are constantly tempting us – instant messages, emails etc. When you become drawn into these distractions, you can find yourself outside flow. It then takes time to get back inside. The author of an article on addicted2success.com recalls that when he began his career as a software developer, flow was necessary. He would be deeply absorbed in the code and if someone interrupted him to ask about his weekend, his mental superstructure would collapse. Fifteen minutes were needed to get to the same point again. Imagine to what extent his productivity was impaired if there were several such interruptions.
Why interruptions are so hard to resist
The text message alert on your phone has conditioned you to expect some tiny burst of information. As we feed on information, text alerts deliver a small dopamine hit to our brains. Digital distractions are thus addictive. The more an app interrupts your life, the more likely it is to lead to an addiction.
-jk-