How do you eliminate distractions?

[Sushi]

I am not talking about moving to another room or leaving the house.

What I am saying is when a distraction comes about when you are reading or writing or engaging in an activity that usually requires a quiet environment but your environment is full of distraction.

Do you simply not pay attention to it or the noise it is producing or do you look at it like there always will be distractions so I might as well just continue doing what I am doing.

Or do you see the distraction as you and your mind telling you that there is a distraction and eliminate the part of your brain that is being distracted and replace it with concentration or simply continuing on without thinking about it?

[4Mind4Life]

I personally have hearing protective earmuffs that block-out sound if I am in a noisy environment or just do not want to hear anything. A few of my friends saw that I had these and bought their own pair. They like them because they say that the 'muffs allow them to focus on their studies.... Do whatever works best and is most efficient for YOU.

Originally Posted by Sushi

I am not talking about moving to another room or leaving the house.

What I am saying is when a distraction comes about when you are reading or writing or engaging in an activity that usually requires a quiet environment but your environment is full of distraction.

Do you simply not pay attention to it or the noise it is producing or do you look at it like there always will be distractions so I might as well just continue doing what I am doing.

Or do you see the distraction as you and your mind telling you that there is a distraction and eliminate the part of your brain that is being distracted and replace it with concentration or simply continuing on without thinking about it?

[ScottJMurray]

The problem is you need to develop focus. Every time you catch your mind wandering to the distracting stimulus, bring your attention back to whatever you're doing. It sounds simple, kind of "duh," but that's the basic skill. Eventually, with a lot of practice, your brain will get the idea and it will wander less and less. Focusing on how to eliminate the distraction only plays into that schema in your head, just keep your brain centered over what you want it to be centered on.

I remember hearing about this martial arts teacher who was revered by his students for being so present and focused. When they asked him how he stayed so connected to the present moment he replied "I don't, I'm just good at coming back."

Edit: Yeah, and the earplugs are a good idea too.

[Sushi]

Originally Posted by ScottJMurray

The problem is you need to develop focus. Every time you catch your mind wandering to the distracting stimulus, bring your attention back to whatever you're doing. It sounds simple, kind of "duh," but that's the basic skill. Eventually, with a lot of practice, your brain will get the idea and it will wander less and less. Focusing on how to eliminate the distraction only plays into that schema in your head, just keep your brain centered over what you want it to be centered on.

I remember hearing about this martial arts teacher who was revered by his students for being so present and focused. When they asked him how he stayed so connected to the present moment he replied "I don't, I'm just good at coming back."

Edit: Yeah, and the earplugs are a good idea too.

Thank you that makes so much sense!

[nick pagan]

I think that it depends on whether the activity is a passive one or not. Reading is quite passive so the other senses pick up on surrounding activity and bring it to your attention. Writing is active but it requires a bit of stop-start activity as you pause to think about what you want to write and then you get distracted.

An absorbing activity such as playing an instrument or a video game tends to take up more brain activity so that minor distractions don't cause interruption.

If you are forced to do easily distracted things in a noisy environment then you have to organise your time much better so that you batch activities. When you prepare for and then carry out a batch activity you automatically increase your focus, which makes distraction less easy to occur. If you do things piecemeal - a bit of thought, a bit of preparation, a bit of action, a halt, then repeat - then you open yourself up to being distracted much more readily.

Hope this helps!
Nick Pagan