The newsletter which curates & delivers the best mind hacks, mental health tips & high performance strategies to you every single week.

🧠 MIND HACK

‘Real Cost Of Distraction’ (Or... The Mindset Shift Required To Free Yourself From Distraction & Tune Into Deeper States Of Focus & Flow!)

From the breaking news, reporting & mainstream media, basically screaming for your non-stop attention... 24 hours a day, 7 days a week...

To big tech & social media companies who's entire business model is predicated on looting as much of your attention as possible & doing whatever it takes to make that happen...

To your smartphone, laptop & smart devices constantly seeking our attention with their endless pings & buzzes...

(let alone the hundreds of texts, messages & emails your inbox gets bombarded with every day, all screaming "red-hot urgent" & demanding your reply ASAP!)

I think it's fair to say that…

Fortunately, there are a lot of different tools, techniques & strategies for minimizing this distraction + boosting up your ability to focus & get more done...

Unfortunately though, these strategies ^ don't work very well unless you get 1 thing right first & that's thing is the mindset/understanding about precisely why distractions are so harmful in the first place…

(otherwise, you'll just downplay their importance & continue to engage with the world in the same way as before.)

Think about it: have you ever thought to yourself (or even said aloud)...

"Oh, it's just 2 minutes - it's no big deal"

or...

"Yeah, let me check this real quick - it'll only take a couple of moments, then I'll go back to focused work immediately after"'

In situations like this, distraction seems totally innocent, right?

A little distraction here... a little distraction there... what's the big deal, right?

Well, not exactly!

When it comes to productivity & high performance, it's actually this type of thinking (about distraction) that forms the biggest problem of all & unless you shift your awareness/mindset a little, other distraction prevention strategies won't work & you'll likely continue to be more distracted than you'd ideally like to be... 😥 

That's because, in reality, there is a much greater cost to getting distracted than most people ever even realize or comprehend (& learning + reminding ourselves of this fact is a massive first step to conquering distractions, improving focus & getting more done!)

We've identified that there are actually 5 layers to distraction; 5 specific ways in which the cost of distraction is much greater than we may have previously believed...

Here's the framework, take a look:

Let's dive into it, shall we?

As you can see at the top ^ the first thing you have (the visible part, above the metaphorical water line) is the distraction itself...

While you're working, you grab your phone & start checking social media for the next 5 minutes...

You go to get some water or coffee before you sit back down to keep working, but you proceed to spend the next 10 minutes chatting with co-workers about random stuff...

You finally back down to finish this important project, but as soon as you start, you get a notification show up & you click it... & spend the next 2 minutes reading the information...

Or, a new email comes in... which leads you to spend another 3 minutes browsing the web for no good reason...

Distractions — no introduction required, we're likely all intimately familiar with them already!

But, again... the 20 seconds, 1 minute... 2, 5, 10 minutes or sometimes more that each of these distractions takes up is only the first (visible) part of the problem... (that's all above the water line)

There are actually 5 additional costs that we're not even aware off, which we're going to walk you through in this week's newsletter...

1. Accumulated Effect

The reason we say "oh, it's just 2 minutes" is because we're thinking short-term. We are focused just on those 2 minutes, not on the accumulated amount of those that all of these small, seemingly-insignificant-at-the-time distractions add up...

Take a look at this next graphic:

(click this or any of the other images to see an enlarged version)

As Van Gogh once said:

On the flip side of all, almost all bad things come from a series of small things, accumulated & compounded over time as well.

As one of our Potencia instructors, Tom, often says:

It's not the 1 action on it's own that matters, it's the accumulation over time.

And the same applies to distraction...

A little distraction here & there... it only appears to not be a "big deal" & therefore we mentally discount it's long-term effect, because we think about it in the short-term.

Here's what really happens… Let's do the math:

• 2 mins per distraction, on average...

• Repeated, say, 20 times per day (although that's very conservative, as we’ll cover share in a moment…) = 40 mins of distraction / day.

• Over the course of 1 month, that adds up to 20 hours... (that’s 20 whole hours of your precious time & attention wasted on mindful distraction…)

• Over the course of a year (365 days), that's 243.33 hours (or, 10 entire days of your life!) spent 'distracted'... (just imagine what you could do in 243 additional hours?)

^ And, like we also suggests, these are very conservative estimates...

• One study, for example, found that we get distracted on average every 5 minutes... (which is 12 times that you get distracted & snapped out of focus & productivity every single hour)

• That’s, accumulated, is 96 times that you’ve been snapped out of focus & productivity in an 8-hour work day.

• Then again, that accumulated over a 5-day work week is 480 times you’ve been DISTRACTED in a workweek.

Look at how much productivity all those little distractions cost you!

If you spend, say 90 minutes a day distracted or on meaningless activities (mindlessly checking email, looking at stuff on the web, whatever)...

Sure, that may just be 90 minutes in a day…

But, accumulated, that’s 450 minutes in a 5-day work week. 

Or, 1800 minutes in a month…

Or, about 21600 minutes in a single year…

21600, which is 360 hours or 15 entire days... WASTED over the course of a year... just because, each day, 90 minutes was spent on mindless distraction that we sometimes justify as ‘no big deal.’

^ That's the real cost of those little "oh, it's no big deal - it's just 2 minutes".

It is a big deal. It does add up!

Next...

2. Compounded Effect

All this considered so far, the main cost isn't even the distraction itself, but the time it takes for us to re-focus after we do get distracted...

This is the 2nd cost — the compounded effect — also includes all the time it takes to re-focus after you get initially distracted over time!

Studies prove that whenever we get distracted, even if it's for "just a moment", it can take anywhere between 11 & 25 MINUTES for our brain to get back into the groove & return back to the same level of focus, productivity & flow as it was, before that distraction!

Here's a graphic to visually demonstrate this:

Example: if you're writing in a total flow state for example... & the words are just flowing out... if you get distracted (even if it's for a moment) it will take a little while to re-adjust & to get back into that state of flow you had before...

You need to mentally re-group in a way... often having to need to re-read the last few things you just wrote/did just to remind yourself of where you were before the distraction.

^ That's the bigger cost, the time it takes to re-focus.

3. Habitual Effect

As human beings, we are creatures of habit!

And so, like with so many things in life, when we get distracted, this in turn, makes it even easier & makes us even more likely to get distracted again the next time... & the next time after that... & the next time after that.

Distraction becomes a habit...

...it becomes a more & more consistent, more & more automated, thing that we do it without thinking - it becomes part of who we are!

It's like any habit… when you engage with distractions, neurons fire & wire. Fire & wire. And bond together tighter & tighter.

You find yourself, for example, grabbing your phone, opening your inbox, clicking notifications... without even thinking about it or consciously wanting/choosing to do that (can you relate?)

You just do it automatically, instinctively... when you didn't use to do so!

And so, not only does the time we spend distracted (as well as the time to re-focus!) accumulate over time, over the long-term... but it also, over time, becomes a stronger & stronger habit of ours... which in term makes us even more likely to get even more distracted & waste even more time the next day, week, month, year, and so on...

And this one is a particularly damning one... because it gets worse over time. You become more & more trapped. Less & less in control of your time & attention. And more & more just living life from one distraction to the other. Spiraling out of control...

Unless you choose to consciously change it of course, which we trust you will if you’ve experienced this issue!

4. Effect On Results

The other thing that we fail to see is the connection between distraction (or any other bad habit for that matter) & the results that we get...

For example, a smoker will have a harder time breathing, or exercising, for someone they won't connect this with their smoking habit... or, rather, they'll look to avoid that connection!

The same applies to distraction...

We'll get little done... or, make mistakes in our work... ultimately, not get a promotion, grow our business & make more money... but we won't connect that to distraction right away when we should!

First off, as research proves, distraction has a very negative effect on the quality of our work!

Obviously, we get less done... we're less productive...

Which, in the case of employment, it leads some people to get fired.

Others? Well, they just get stuck... They don't get promoted & don't advance their careers... in some part because of their distraction, their lack of focus & average levels of productivity...

In the case of running your own business, it can literally be the difference between success & failure of the venture...

Think of it this way...

Distraction is literally taking money out of your pocket.

Over the course of a year, distraction may be your biggest cost, costing you thousands, tens of thousands or even millions of dollars every single year…

And over the course of an entire lifetime, that day-in, day-out distraction is costing you prolific output... new music that you didn’t produce because you were distracted, new books you didn’t write, new products you didn’t create, life goals you didn’t achieve… (& yes, money you didn't make too.)

Eradicate distraction & we promise you, you'll see to see things in your work & your life get better... even things you didn't even know would be connected to distraction & would get better... they will improve! It's amazing... & you'll see for yourself...

5. Whole Life Effect

Finally, time is the most valuable resource have largely because it's finite. We have 24 hours each & every day. No more, no less.

And so, because it's a finite resource, a minute spent on distraction is a minute NOT spent on something else...

Take a look at this framework:

A minute spent on mindless distraction is a minute NOT spent on...

• Improving your health & fitness (people say they don't have time to go to the gym, to workout... it's not true... get rid of those mindless 2 minute distractions, or spend less time on social media, Youtube, Netflix or other distractions & suddenly you'll have plenty of time for this & everything else)
  

• Your career (as covered before, there's a great cost here!)
  

• Your relationships

Distraction can ruin relationships, friendships, our bond with family... which we can live to regret.

And of course, your happiness & lifestyle...

And so, that's the final real cost — the effect that distraction has not just on our work, but ALL the important areas of our life...

The good news, of course, is that you do not need to suffer these costs & consequences as just like with any habit or behavior, we’re capable of change as soon as we learn the truth (that’s what we hope this start to this week’s newsletter was, ‘an illuminating truth about the real costs of distractions’) & then make a decision to change this in your own life 😃 

Also, you can use this practically too by reminding yourself of these true consequences & therefore using that to change. You can even say to yourself out loud:

You can also remind yourself of what’s truly important to you instead making resisting potential distractions much easier going forward!

Recommended: If you'd like to learn more (including: the practical steps & strategies that follow this new understanding) for practically avoiding, eradicating & replacing distractions + boosting your focus levels & tuning into states of flow… then be sure to check out the full Potencia course on the topic, called:

’Laser-Like Focus: How To Eradiate Distraction & Create Laser-Like Focus On Demand’

Inside this course, you'll learn a number of simple, yet proven & highly-practical steps, methods & strategies to essentially hit the 'delete' button on the distraction & interruptions in your life from social media to the news to notifications or your inbox...

...as well as train up your ability to consistently tune into deep states of focus & flow...

...so you can learn anything faster, be more creative, multiply your productivity... & start hitting your goals in record time!

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💭 QUOTE OF THE WEEK

‎‍💡 LEARNING HACK

The Power Of Action-Based Learning

Imagine attempting to teach a toddler to walk by getting him to listening to a lecture or watch a tutorial video...

The outrageousness of that visual is funny, yet it isn’t written for comedic purposes. It’s written to demonstrate that the way we learn (including all of school years) is somewhat, if not entirely, backwards...

Also, as a society we tend to overprioritize 'theory' or 'information' & under-prioritize actually getting up, training a skill & becoming practically good at something...

Another example: imagine buying a new bike & learning how to ride it by buying textbooks about bike riding...

Sure, that may actually be a great first step helping you learn a little bit about the mechanics of the bike... but I'm sure you'd agree, unless you actually get on the bike, your progress will be limited!

Once again, we may be shocked at these examples, but this is what people do all the time in schools, at events & at lectures...

We attempt to learn photography, art, or business purely through the consumption of more & more information... or from attending university & listening to lectures... but little time actually doing it!

The challenge for you, if you really want to learn faster & develop skills that can elevate your life is to apply this: action-based (or kinaesthetic) learning.

If you’re learning marketing or sales, for example, don’t just read that sales book…

If you’re learning photography, as soon as you get an insight from the photography guide you're reading, take out your camera & test it out. Take action fast (don't wait to finish your research, apply it in real time.)

Go from reading the guide (learning theory) to implementing the information as fast as possible.

Move into action-based learning, instead of the old, ineffective lecture-style learning that schools still use.

And it may be common sense, but it’s definitely not common practice. And so, when you actually do apply this, you'll have a great advantage in life!

And if you'd like to learn more about precisely which skills you can develop — including a practical guide to strategically & methodically select the right 'high value skills' to earn more, elevate your career & thrive in life — be sure to check out this Potencia guide, called:

’High Value Skills’ (For Building A Great Career, Getting Paid Handsomely & Generating Wealth)

Why do some people, for example, earn minimum wage, while others can charge $100, $500, $1000, or even $5000... per hour?

And others don't even work at an 'hourly rate'... but build careers, businesses & amass a fortune?

The answer is skills.  

More specifically, 'high-value skills'.

In this impactful training series, you'll learn how to strategically & methodologically select high value skills to develop & use these skills to transform your income, impact & life forever:

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