Why Am I So Easily Distracted?

It’s in our nature to be easily distracted; any sudden movement or sound triggers an automatic reflex to look at it. This is a survival reflex called the “orienting response.”

Our ancestors needed the “orienting response” reflex to instantly turn their attention to potential predators in the undergrowth. It’s still useful to avoid everyday dangers such as reckless drivers—but not so much when working on constantly changing screens. There’s no turning this life-saving reflex off, so that’s why you need to mute pop-up notifications.

Some of our workspaces don’t do us any favors, either—open-plan workspaces are full of visual and sound distractions that constantly activate your brain’s “watching” (salience) network, causing your “concentrating” (executive control) network to stop and start. Seclude yourself in a side office or private cubicle to minimize distractions.

However, sometimes distractions are useful. Monotonous, repetitive work, such as production line work or data entry, can lull the brain into its inward-looking “wandering” state (default mode network). A little stimulation, such as music or drawing a doodle at your desk, is often enough to reactivate the other networks and prevent the mind from wandering too far so we don’t miss something important.

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Don’t check that notification!

When you are fully concentrating, if you allow a sudden distraction to switch on the other brain networks, it can take up to 25 minutes for you to regain your concentration.