I confess. I have an addiction. I love hearing the dings and waiting for the ring. When I hear the chime, I flutter with anticipation. When I hit the unlock button and I see new messages, I hear “You’ve got mail!” (at least, in my mind) and get excited. Someone out there is thinking about me and wants to connect – so what if it is just Amazon trying to sell me even more things – someone thinks I’m important and is reaching out. And it could be a very important message. People do have real estate emergencies late at night or on the weekends (seriously, this has happened!).

We fool ourselves into thinking these devices are nothing more than productivity tools. Instead, we have become slaves to them. Like Pavlov’s dogs, we eagerly await the notification of a new message. Not joking here. Research has shown the message alerts trigger the pleasure receptors in our brains. Instead of these devices being our tools, we are their slaves. Extreme? Yes. Far from the truth? Not really.

The more distractions I have, the more stressed I am. Many of us believe that handling distractions means that we are effective multi-taskers. We brag to ourselves about scheduling the plumber while handling the conference call or how quickly we are able to jump between tasks, respond to emails, answer text messages, and talk on the phone. But who are we fooling. This is hard and leaves you feeling scattered. In the moment you feel like you are accomplishing things but, at the end of the day, you have nothing to show for all your “hard” work. Multitasking is distracting and draining.

I need flow, a period of undistracted work time to simply focus on a single task at hand. At times, this sounds like the ideal rather than the practical. But it is necessary for peace of mind and our productivity. No matter how long my to-do list is, I’ve found I can be more productive if I focus solely on one task at a time. This means turning off the email notifications and tucking the cell phone away. If the office phone rings, I will let it go to voicemail – unless I know it is an urgent call. Emails and text messages do not [usually] need to be returned immediately. Instantaneous non-verbal communication is convenient. But it is a huge distraction.

The phone is even a stressor away from the office. It pulls me away from other important things – like a husband and two adoring daughters. Instead of living in the moment with them, I’ll get caught up in email, the latest news article, or the Twitter feed (and yes, Facebook). But why are these things so important? They aren’t what is happening around me at this VERY MOMENT. Let go. Unplug.

Before grabbing the phone, I’m asking myself the following:

• What will I do about this now?  Before checking email, I consider if I am in a position to respond? If I’m waiting with Lorelei (a one-year-old) during Clara’s gymnastics class, I’m not in the best position to read and respond to an email from opposing counsel. Sitting at a traffic light may not be the best time to read a long email from a client. Since there are some emails that truly are emergencies, I will quickly scan the senders and the messages previews (so that the messages still show as unread). If no immediate response is needed, I close it out without reading.

 

• How is this benefitting me? This is the ultimate question to ask in the mornings as I’m scrolling through the Facebook or Twitter feeds before getting out of bed. Yes, some mindless reading is okay, but if you need to be productive, you should probably combine the relaxation with some industry news. (I love my Friday emails from the Houston Business Journal!) Your first action in the morning will set your intention for the day. With this, why set the stage for wasting time – get up and exercise! If I do this, my entire day seems less stressful and more productive.

 

• Where should I be right this very moment? Do I need to be focusing on my work, driving, or those around me? Am I living in the moment and experiencing the world around me? Or am I caught up in what others are doing.