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Combating distractions: How to stay focused during the workday
You’re sitting at your desk, ready to be productive. But before you know it, your hand reaches for the phone — just for a second. Suddenly, you're reading an intense debate on the news feed. It grabs your attention. You scroll, comment, think. When you finally snap back to your task… it’s already 6 PM. You’re mentally drained, your work is half-done, and the day is gone. Sound familiar?
Or maybe you’re working from home. You sit down to begin, but then your cat screams at the door. You open it. On your way back, you remember the dishes. Then the washing machine. A courier arrives. You order toothpaste. The cat wants to go out again. And just like that — it’s lunchtime.
These distractions don’t feel like much in the moment, but they steal your focus and energy. The days without distractions feel almost magical — like someone else lived them. So the big question is:
How do you stay focused at work or at home? How do you protect your attention and keep your day productive — without feeling exhausted?
In this article, we’ll explore how distractions break your flow, what your brain needs to stay focused, and which simple tricks can help you regain control — both at work and in personal tasks.
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1.Make a list of biggest distractions
To improve your focus, start by identifying what actually breaks it.
Most people get distracted by obvious things like:
- Social media (Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn),
- Messengers (WhatsApp, Telegram),
- Email notifications,
- YouTube and streaming platforms.
But distractions are often individual. Ask yourself:
- Do background conversations pull your attention?
- Do you check your phone every few minutes out of habit?
- Are notifications constantly interrupting your train of thought?
💡 Pro Tip: If you live with ADHD or experience attention-related difficulties, even small triggers like a passing car, a blinking light, or a background noise can be enough to shift your focus.
📋 Action step:
Write down your top 5–7 personal distractions. This will give you clarity and make it easier to block or manage them in the next steps.
2. Create a strategy to eliminate each distraction
Once you’ve identified what pulls your attention away — it’s time to tackle each distraction with a clear, personal strategy.
🏠 Home-related distractions
If you're working remotely and get distracted by house chores:
- Set a specific time in your schedule for household tasks (before or after work). Of course, Voiset can help with that using its AI scheduling features.
- During working hours, act as if you're in a real office. If you wouldn't be cleaning the kitchen or folding laundry there — don't do it now either.
- Try using a dedicated workspace or corner that signals “focus mode.”
🐈 Pet-related interruptions
Is your cat constantly meowing behind the door? Consider a small pet door, so they can enter and exit without disrupting you. Of course, sometimes cats meow for no reason at all — that can be hard to manage. In those cases, try finding ways to keep them occupied or help them develop a consistent routine.
📱 Phone addiction
Turning your phone screen down isn’t enough. Try this instead:
- Activate Focus Mode, Airplane Mode.
- Put your phone in another room or in a drawer during deep work sessions.
- If you must keep it near you, use it strictly for timers or work-related tools — nothing else.
🤯 Reminder: Your brain is always looking for a way to escape effort. The easier it is to access distractions, the more likely you’ll take the bait — even without realizing it.
📋 Action step:
Go through your distraction list from step 1 and write down one practical solution for each item.
3. Make a prioritized list of tasks that need your 100% attention
Once you’ve reduced distractions, it’s time to get clear on what actually requires your full focus on your goals.
Many people think that only work tasks belong in this category. However, distractions affect every part of our lives.
Think about moments like:
- 🧘♂️ Checking your phone during yoga
- 👨👧 Sitting with your child while scrolling through a work chat
- 💬 Mentally drifting during conversations or meetings
It’s not just about staying productive — it’s about staying connected to what matters.
When you stay focused on your goals, both big and small, you can reclaim time, energy, and presence.
💡 Ask yourself:
- Which daily activities deserve your full attention?
- When do I catch myself procrastinating even during important moments?
- How can I stay focused on my goals, instead of escaping into minor tasks?
📋 Action step:
Make a list of 3–5 activities that truly matter — whether they’re professional goals or personal connections.
These are the times when you need your anti-procrastination plan.
That plan includes a clear goal, fewer distractions, and boundaries to help you stay focused. If you feel like you're losing valuable time on low-priority tasks, learn how to stop the time sink, master task prioritization, and take back control.
Multitasking killing your productivity? Here’s what to do instead
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Many people believe multitasking helps them get more done in less time. In reality, the opposite is usually true. Very often we are busy but not productive at all. We do dozens of different things at the same time, but make no progress in any of them. Neuropsychiatrist Theo Compernolle tells us why this happens. We will tell a little theory, but it is not long and interesting.
The fact is that the human brain has only three cognitive systems. They are the ones that determine our decisions, our actions, and even what we think.
🧠 Switching between tasks doesn’t save time — it wastes it.
The first cognitive system is the so-called thinking brain.
Evolutionarily, it was the last to appear in us. It is responsible for our perception of the past and the future - all those moments when we suddenly think about the connection between generations, about what will happen if we take a certain step or not. This same brain makes plans for the future and also imagines anything. We can have whole worlds in our imagination!
And now the most important thing: the thinking brain is single-tasking. If it's programming, it's only programming. If it's a painting, it's only a painting. As soon as you get distracted, the next cognitive system is activated.
The second cognitive system is the reflex brain.
Logically, this is the brain responsible for reflexes and, of course, it is the oldest. Even the most primitive animals have it. This brain has only the here and now moment, and it always analyzes the information received from our senses. It doesn't care what was there or will be there. If you have a craving now, it will demand that the desire be satisfied.
The third cognitive system is the archiving brain.
It is switched on when the thinking brain is resting because its main time is the time of sleep. The task of this brain is to organize all those arrays of information that have come in and that have been generated.
The evolution of the entire human race was the moment when, instead of relying solely on reflexes, our ancestors suddenly stopped to think. The thinking brain emerged. It turns on when we think about going to bed early, but the brain tells us that it's better to first repeat the speech for tomorrow's presentation. When we don't let the reproductive instinct kick in for some reason. When we don't run headlong for lunch as soon as we feel the first signs of hunger, etc.
Now, the thinking brain is a very slow and focused brain. It needs sustained attention. It absorbs a lot of energy and, of course, tires quickly. ONLY ONE topic at a time can this brain think about. Yet it is the brain that allows us to set goals, plan for them, break them down into stages, and so on.
Concentration techniques: the power of concentration on a single task
A person's success today depends largely on their ability to think. Therefore, it is critical to allow yourself to focus on just one task to allow your thinking brain to do its job.
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Using Voiset will give you:
1. Understanding the prioritization of each of the tasks.
Most of the tasks we are distracted by are reflexive. You hear the sound of a drill, you smell a bad odor, you feel hungry, your hand reaches for the phone, etc. However, your thinking brain is the dominant brain and can quite easily overcome any of these reflexes. This is proven, and you can easily give examples when you were able to do it. If you give your thinking brain a prioritized list of tasks in Voiset, it will keep you from being distracted by reflexive tasks. Holding your attention is based on understanding that you want to hold that attention and prioritize what you want to do.
2. Utilizing the reflex brain to benefit one's progress
You can easily conquer any spontaneous desire if you immediately note it and add it to your schedule without fighting it. For example, in the middle of your workday, you suddenly have a critical urge to eat a ripe mango or a cream-cheese cake. Tell Voiset about it immediately, and Voiset will create a note and suggest you add it as a task to your schedule. If you agree, you know you'll have a nice reward this evening, you just have to work on it.
3. Ability to accomplish one task at a time.
The key to your success is consistency. Your thinking brain tires quickly, remember that. It will not be able to work at its maximum every day. It needs an even workload. The AI in Voiset can distribute the workload in your schedule so that you never again have a situation where you just don't know what to do!
Social media and work: the impact on task management
What are the effects of social media? We get caught in a time trap and waste valuable resources on unproductive activities. Communicating on social media and messengers requires concentration. We use our thinking brain resources to tell a random person why their thoughts are wrong. Or to come up with an appropriate caption for a new photo. Struggling to focus on your goals with social media distractions? Use the Voiset GPT plugin to manage tasks directly from your social platforms, helping you stay organized and productive.
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It is important to realize that it is the thinking brain that is at work while scrolling through the news feed, and while texting and commenting on posts. It gets tired very quickly. In other words, every day you have to make a simple choice: do you want to spend more time on social networks or direct this time to the realization of your goal? The last question is only irrelevant if time on social media is your job.
The fight against distractions must begin with the realization that there is no such thing as multitasking. If a person can handle several things at the same time, it means that he or she is doing all but one of them on a reflexive level.
