12 Life Hacks for Anyone Who’s Always Distracted
Go ahead! Reward yourself for paying attention!We’ve all been there. You sit down to check your embarrassingly full inbox and, within seconds, you get distracted. Your coworker sends you a funny TikTok, which turns into you scrolling for five (OK, 30) minutes. You finally get back to your inbox, only to remember the doctor’s appointment you have in less than 24 hours—and what better time than the present to fill out that pre-visit paperwork? Of course they need your emergency contact info, so you open up your phone to grab a number and see a text from your friend. Another half hour goes by before you remember what you were supposed to be doing.
Not being able to focus on the task in front of you is super frustrating and highly relatable. Case in point: I literally wrote this intro halfway through a workout when I (you guessed it) got distracted! So, let’s discuss why you might be getting so distracted, how lack of focus can impact your mental health, and what you can do about it.
Here’s why you’re getting distracted.
You might have trouble focusing for lots of different reasons. The obvious ones are external distractions, like constant phone notifications or your neighbor’s loud music, and internal distractions such as stress spirals that can make it hard to concentrate, says licensed clinical psychologist Jessica Stern, PhD, a member of the Wondermind Advisory Committee. And having certain mental health conditions like anxiety or ADHD can make it even harder to ignore distracting sounds, smells, and thoughts, says licensed clinical psychologist Abigail Levrini, PhD, author of Succeeding with Adult ADHD.
When it comes to ADHD, people with this diagnosis usually have issues with executive functioning skills—staying organized, time management, and decision-making (hello, ADHD paralysis), Dr. Levrini explains. “Think of an ADHD brain as a really sleepy CEO who can barely keep her eyes open to do the work,” she says. This can make it difficult to focus.
And with anxiety disorders (and anxiety in general), you’re all up in your head. It’s hard to pay attention to a work project or tune in to a convo when you’re ruminating about the past or catastrophizing about the future, explains Dr. Stern. Your worries might be distracting you, or you may not be able to focus because you’re too tired from worrying, she adds.
You can also get easily distracted if you have other mental health conditions like depression or bipolar disorder, according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5-TR).
Diagnoses aside, you can just get distracted because there are a million things fighting for your attention at any given time. And, sometimes, we get in our own way. We distract ourselves when we feel overwhelmed, stressed, or bored, finding other things to do or think about to avoid uncomfortable emotions, says Dr. Stern. Taking on too much at once and not sleeping enough can hurt our focus too, says licensed psychologist Carey Heller, PsyD, who specializes in treating ADHD and problems with executive functioning.
No matter why you’re getting distracted, focus issues really suck and can make you feel embarrassed, inadequate, and disconnected. All of this is to say that it makes sense if you want to do something about how often you are distracted. (I’m probably bookmarking this article for myself!)
How to deal when you’re distracted.
Outside of seeing a professional—like a doctor for your sleep issues or a mental health pro who can help you manage anxiety or ADHD with coping skills and/or meds—there are things you can do on your own. Here are some simple ways you can be better at dealing with distractions and get focused faster.
1. Reduce external distractions.
This might seem like a no-brainer, but a somewhat easy thing to do when you can’t focus is to eliminate distractions to the best of your ability, says Dr. Stern. If your phone is flooded with texts, put it on silent or hide it across the room. If you have too many tabs open, close them. If people are being loud, move somewhere else, put on headphones, or ask them to GTFO. Whatever’s standing in your way of concentrating is fair game.
2. Pull out some coping skills for whatever’s bugging you.
If the distraction is a little more complex, like you’re caught up in your worries, then reducing your anxiety in the moment can help you focus, says Dr. Stern. You can do different things to manage your anxiety, but Dr. Stern suggests going for a walk, listening to music you love, and writing down your thoughts on paper. Basically, do anything that’s going to be self-soothing or an outlet for your emotions, she says.
3. Do the thing you can’t stop thinking about.
Let’s say you’re in the middle of an assignment and all you can think about is calling your insurance company. In that situation, pausing to make the call (if you can realistically step away from what you’re doing) might actually help you come back more focused. “If something’s eating away at you and you have the ability to just take care of it and then not have to worry about it … it’s probably worth getting it out of the way,” notes Dr. Heller. It’s going to relieve some of the anxiety you were distracted by in the first place.
4. Make a list.
Have you ever been so overwhelmed by what you have to do that you just can’t start anything? Or, you feel stuck not really knowing where to start? Making any type of to-do list (on paper or in your Notes app) can help you focus because it organizes your tasks, says Dr. Heller. Here are some to-do list structures that Dr. Heller suggests when you’re trying to plan out your day. Try one, combine two, or do whatever works for you:
- Write out a task with specific times you’re going to do each thing
- Order your list by what’s most important to get done
- Separate your list into things that require the most and the least amount of energy
- Put some small tasks first so that you can build up momentum for the bigger stuff
- Break up big tasks on your to-do list into smaller parts so they seem more manageable
5. Find your motivation.
Sometimes we’re easily distracted because we literally do not care about the task at hand. And while it might seem hard to find a deeper motivation for going through your inbox or paying your bills, Dr. Heller explains that focusing on why you’re doing this thing can give you the push you need to keep going. Responding to emails keeps you organized and in the loop! Taking care of bills makes you responsible and free of late fees!
Another way to unearth your motivation from the depths of boredom—and resist distractions—is promising yourself a reward for paying attention, Dr. Heller says. So, maybe you vow to watch an episode of Selling Sunset or play Wordle after you do homework or write thank-you cards you’ve been avoiding for weeks.
6. Ground yourself.
When you can’t concentrate on a report because your phone’s sucking you in or you’re caught up in your thoughts, a grounding exercise can bring you into the present moment, says Dr. Levrini. Use it as a reset to help you transition from what’s distracting you to what you should be focusing on. There are tons of different grounding or mindfulness exercises to choose from, but here are three that Dr. Levrini suggests when you’re distracted:
- 5-4-3-2-1: Name five things you can see, four things you can feel, three things you can hear, two things you can smell, and one thing you can taste.
- Categories: Pick categories (like movies, animals, and colors) and list as many items as you can in them.
- Muscle relaxation: Focus on tightening your fists, your shoulders, or other muscles for 10 seconds, then unclench for 10 seconds. Pay attention to how it feels to clench and release.
7. Take breaks.
For anything that requires a lot of brain power, breaking up that task into designated work sessions with scheduled breaks in between can help you focus more easily because you aren’t as burnt out, says Dr. Heller. One popular method is repeating 25 minutes of work followed by a five-minute break, called the Pomodoro method. But Dr. Heller says you can choose any structure where you’re doing work in chunks and taking phone, meditation, or walk breaks to help you pay better attention.
8. Take notes.
If you find your mind wandering to Chappell Roan lyrics in the middle of a meeting, taking notes can help. This one might sound pretty obvious, but writing stuff down automatically means you’ll have to pay closer attention to what’s being said. “You’re actively processing the information you’re receiving in the moment,” explains Dr. Heller.
You can also take ~mental~ notes if you struggle to focus in settings where it would be weird to whip out a pen and paper. Just imagining that you’d want to remember the conversation or be able to summarize it later can help you focus better, adds Dr. Heller.
9. Set work and relaxation boundaries.
Feeling your focus slowly leave your body while working from bed or the couch is too real. All you can think about is that TV in the corner or the comfy pillows calling your name. Enter: designated work spaces that train your brain to recognize when it’s time to focus, says Dr. Heller.
You don’t necessarily need to have an office set-up in another room—that’s not realistic for plenty of people. You can have a special chair or space when you’re doing assignments or taking meetings vs. watching shows and napping, Dr. Heller notes. Try it out, and see if setting this boundary helps.
10. Have designated text and email time.
I don’t know about you, but having so much to check throughout the day—texts, calls, emails—can make me feel like my mind is going in a hundred different directions. Even if you’re not responding, seeing those things come through pulls your focus away from what you’re doing and also leaves you quietly thinking about how you’ll reply later, says Dr. Heller. So, if silencing notifications isn’t enough for you, you can have set times throughout the day where you know you’ll dedicate 10, 15, or however many minutes to your phone or email, he says. You might feel less anxious doing other stuff knowing that tech time is coming up.
11. Just start the hard thing.
Have you ever pivoted hard when you sat down to do something and it felt way too intimidating or overwhelming? In a scenario like this, tackling a tiny bit of your task can help you see that you can actually get it done. Do whatever part of it feels like low-hanging fruit, says Dr. Stern. If you have a paper to write, for example, type out ideas in bullet points to get your mind going, she notes. Or, maybe flag a few design ideas before you start making online baby shower invites for a friend. “Once you have taken that [first] step, it can be much easier to keep going,” agrees Dr. Levrini.
12. Do one thing at a time.
If focusing your attention on too many things stresses you out, you aren’t alone. Sure, sometimes multitasking helps with time management, but it can also make you feel scatter-brained. “A good multitasker is just someone who is able to switch their attention back and forth to different things very quickly and efficiently,” notes Dr. Levrini. That said, it can be hard for a lot of people, especially those with ADHD, to toggle between tasks and regain focus, she explains. They waste time pivoting when they could be zooming in on what they’re trying to do. If you struggle with this, creating blocks of time for just one assignment or chore can help you get stuff done and concentrate, she says.
Wondermind does not provide medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Any information published on this website or by this brand is not intended as a replacement for medical advice. Always consult a qualified health or mental health professional with any questions or concerns about your mental health.