15 Seconds of Intent Can Save 15 Minutes of Distraction

October 2, 2021 — Digital distraction is a huge time suck, but pausing to set a clear intention can fix it in a few seconds.

I woke up at 4 am last night and couldn’t get back to sleep, so I got up and started looping.

You know…email, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, then back to email (even though the odds of a new message coming in since checking five minutes ago are basically zero).

I hate that I do this, because it’s such a waste of time.

But no matter how many productivity apps, Chrome extensions, and organizational systems I try, I always find myself getting sucked back into mindless browsing.

It’s like the internet is a rollercoaster, and I can’t get off, because the guy who’s supposed to press STOP is too busy scrolling Instagram.

Hack: Set Intention

Honestly, it’s damn near impossible to resist the internet when you’re exhausted — which is why sleep is so important.

But apart from getting rest, the best antidote I’ve found to distraction is simply taking fifteen seconds to get clear on what I’m doing before I do it.