How to Stand Out in a World Full of Distractions

Explaining distraction is pretty simple.

It's the process of interrupting attention.

But let me tell ya a story:

It's Friday at Noon…

I'm playing a Minecraft board game with my 10-year-old cousin.

We had to play in a team to secure our base from zombies.

So he asked me a question about how to go about it…

I wish I could tell you what question, but I wasn't fully present.

“YASAR?” he screams.

“Give me a second, I gotta answer this message real quick.”

I allowed my phone to distract me.

And guess what happened?

I looked up after answering & he was gone.

I wasted some quality time with my cousin because I had my phone near me & couldn't resist the notification.

You might think that's not a big deal.

But that's how 90% of relationships are all the time.

Such situations keep repeating if you're not fully aware of it.

I'm sure you had similar experiences…

To make it even worse:

Distractions are killing our ability to create as well.

A lot of people use Social Media to avoid boredom,

to “Fill spare time,” so to speak.

Instead of tolerating boredom, we grab our phones out of habit…

Jumping from one social media platform to the next.

Until we realize that we've got something to do & start working on another screen.

That's a problem because mind-wandering is essential for creativity.

Breakthrough moments occur when you're in silence,

Letting your subconscious mind do the work.

Going back to my childhood, I remember I was bored all the time.

I stopped playing with LEGOs and didn't know what to do.

I told my parents…

They said it's on me.

So I also told my sister & we were lying on the floor until one of us came up with an ENTIRELY new game we could play.

We knew what we were both interested in and mixed something.

That's the epitome of creativity.

Unfortunately, a lot of us lost this ability.

Let's get it back:

A Dance of Traction & Distraction

What's the opposite of distraction?

It's traction.

Activities like:

• Good sleep

• Lifting weights

• Meditating

The deciding factor is your intention & sticking to your word.

Here are 3 Strategies to help you get your traction back

1. Understanding Internal triggers

First things first:

Stop trying to control your emotions.

You can only control how you react to them.

It's the same with an urge that occurs from distraction.

It will come up 100%

But you have to learn how to react to them.

You overuse social media & video games to escape psychological discomfort.

Stop fighting it & look for the discomfort that precedes the distraction.

Let's say you want to stop fapping.

My excuse used to be that I wanted to unwind after a long day.

It's easy to justify if you had a HARD day of work.

So my Internal trigger would be stress.

For 90% of others, it will be because they feel bored, sad, or lonely.

Ignoring this internal trigger (It's what 90% do) will only make the desire stronger.

You won't be able to resist for a long time.

Once you finally give in to it…

The dopamine level in your body skyrockets & you create a bad habit.

Rather than ignoring the feeling, write it down with the time of day.

Keep a Distraction Diary.

It will help you to link behaviors with internal triggers.

After that, observe the sensation in your body.

Pressure on your chest?

Tightened jaw?

Stay with the feeling.

Imagine your negative emotions and thoughts as individual clouds in the sky.

Acknowledge them, but let them pass by.

2. Time Blocking your day

If you don't plan your day, someone else will.

If you don't respect your time, everybody will abuse it.

If you don't teach others how to treat your time, they'll repeat abusing it.

Everything is a potential distraction.

Depending on the lens you see the world through.

From a spiritual perspective, those are distractions:

• Politics

• Career

• Education

• Family

• Society

The only thing that matters to them is the present moment & enlightenment.

So make sure to turn your values into time.

And I don't mean just talking about how important family, health & friends are to you.

But investing your time into those areas.

Without actually carving out time for your 'priorities' they're empty promises.

You don't even know your values, right?

If they aren't on the tip of your tongue, they aren't clear enough.

Consult the person you want to become in 10+ years.

Ask what's essential to him.

Note them down NOW.

The best way to make sure you stick to your words is:

Time-blocking your day.

Decide what & when you're going to do something.

Take your calendar (I'm using Google Calendar) and kill all the white space.

The specifics don't matter.

If you need time to check social media, include it in your calendar.

It's about creating an intentional way of living.

Your perfect week.

Align your daily activities with your values.

Don't let your loved ones come up short here. (Speaking out of experience)

To keep improving your calendar over time, connect your Distraction Diary with it.

See when you get distracted & change your strategy.

3. Optimize external triggers

The tech giants behind social media apps work hard to make you addicted to their services.

Notifications & even the app design are distractions.

Make sure to use external triggers to your advantage.

They should serve you, not the other way around.

Let's start with your phone.

It's always with us & that's why it's such a huge distraction.

5 simple ACTIONABLE, yes, ACTIONABLE steps:

• Remove unnecessary apps

• Remove apps you can use on your PC

• Set time limits for apps

• Deactivate 90% of your notifications, only allow important ones

• Put it into another room overnight

See your phone through a lens of mindfulness.

Don't let your phone decide when you connect with the digital world.

99% of your notifications are irrelevant.

I'm allowing 3 notifications on my phone:

• Text messages from family & friends

• Phone calls (For urgent matters)

• Business E-mail (temporary)

Nothing else on my phone can start a conversation with me.

I told every other App to shut the fuck up.

True inner peace.

What if an App still catches your attention?

What if you can't resist the death scroll once you're on the App?

YouTube Shorts used to be the bane of my existence.

I had no notifications activated.

I couldn't delete the App because it's pre-installed.

Not only that, but I manually shut off the timer to 'check something' real quick.

You might be in a similar situation.

There are 2 options:

1. Let someone you trust set up the timer (So they're the only ones knowing the code)

2. Search for tools that eliminate the feeds

These add-ons allow you to use the apps the way you want, rather than how the companies intended it to be.

Since no add-on fixes every App, I can give you the ones that helped me the most.

NOT SPONSORED BTW.

I just want to help.

Don’t belittle the problem

You might think I'm exaggerating.

Consuming content feels good, after all, so why avoid it?

Dopamine levels are FRIED nowadays.

I'm not against consumption.

I'm consuming daily but with INTENTION in a SET time frame.

It would mean the world to me if you do the same.

Because distracting yourself means you're losing yourself.

You're trading something painful for pleasure.

The pain is where true character is built — embrace it.

You're born to create.

If you create, you align with your purpose.

If you create, the world aligns with your will.

If you create, consuming becomes a mindful activity.

Use these techniques to regain your traction.

Again, this doesn't mean you should eliminate EVERYTHING that brings joy to you.

It means you should change the ratio.

Start with creating as much as you consume:

50/50

Be mindful about it.

A clear & focused mind will change the world.

Remember to stay present

Yasar Heidt