My Top 5 Distractions and How I Deal With Them

My days are spent fighting distractions.

Given my time restraints, I just don't have it in me anymore to spend hours at a time on the phone texting, liking, commenting, etc -- not like I used to. And I can't spend it on other things like videos and consuming media (as much as I would love that). So I recently downloaded an app called Quality Time to see what I spent the most of my time on.

It was shocking.

I was on my phone over 4 hours a day! And much of it was spent on doing the following. If you'd like to see what distracts me and how I combat these distractions, keep on reading. :)

5. Social Media (aka Instagram)

"But Rosie, this is a phone app..."

You are right, friend. But this is actually the least distracting of all distractions that distract me (say that 5 times fast).

For some people, they would probably say their phone is the biggest distraction in their life. But I have a lot of buffers set in place when it comes to my phone. I never have it near me when I studying (or when I'm home at all, actually), notifications are turned off, and it's either on silent or vibrate. But there's one thing that quickly becomes addictive to me.

Social media.

All it takes is one tap, and I'm sucked into a world that's so tempting to just continuously scroll through.

How I deal with this: Quality Time app and restraints

Quality Time is an Android app that tells me how much time I spend on my phone and allows me to set notifications that go off after I've been on a designated app for a certain amount of time. Each day I limit myself to 15 minutes on Instagram -- which I barely ever hit now!

Also, in times when I feel overwhelmed by IG, I will completely delete the app and take a social media break -- which is always refreshing and an exercise I can't recommend enough.

4. Other people

Now I don't mention this to say that people aren't welcome in my presence. But given my tendency to have a hard time saying "no" or asserting myself at all, it can be easy to let conversations with others distract me. I have an habit of getting into conversations with people who talk my ear off and don't leave me an opening to exit through. So I remain complacent and unfocused on the conversation because I have somewhere to be or something to do -- which isn't fair to either party.

How I combat this: Learning how to say no and excuse myself. Following my gut when I need to be somewhere and asserting myself accordingly. I don't have to be afraid of what the other person will think of me.

3. Email + Other Blogs

Sometimes when I'm bored I'll open up a tab for Bloglovin' and blindly click on new posts to read until the number drops from 20+ to 0. Not the healthiest or most productive, yes?

How I deal with this: Set a specific time for anything blog related

This is usually after 6pm when my school brain turns off and my work brain turns on. I will allow myself to read other blogs, work on my own, and not feel so guilty about taking my time with it. But I no longer let myself use looking at other blogs as a distraction. "Blog time is later," has become a constant promise.

2. Desire to Write

Another addiction of mine that keeps me up late and staring at a screen. But my brain likes to tell me I'm being productive, even if that means sleeping in and waking up feeling unrested.

How I stop this: Setting a phone cutoff time. Each day at 9pm the phone gets put away -- across the room so I have to get up out of bed if I really need to get it.

1. YouTube

I specify YouTube despite already mentioning social media because it's not only different in my mind, but it is my worst addiction. I have a very terrible habit I am in the process of breaking: getting into bed, knowing I want to get up early the next day, and yet watching YouTube for thirty to sixty minutes. It doesn't help me sleep or get up the next day, and it rarely helps me progress forward. Yes, it helps me unwind, but it does more harm than good.

How I combat this: Quality Time app

But this doesn't help if I'm just beginning the allotted hour of YouTube time for the day. So another thing I'd like to try, but haven't yet, is the APP WITH THE TREES. I'll set the timer and put my phone away. Even I feel the need to write something down, I'll just have to use pen and paper.

Are your distractions phone related?

I'd like to encourage you to find out what distracts you! If it's your phone, Sorelle Amore has a really great video on how to combat this.