Boost Your Brain By Reducing Distractions
Script / Documentation
Welcome back to Just Facts Academy, where you learn how to research like a genius. Remember, you don’t have to be an Einstein to be a great researcher. Just apply the 7 Standards of Credibility from our first video series, and you’ll be way ahead of the pack.
Now, we’re taking it up notch! So put your phone on silent, because today’s lesson is about
Did you know distractions cause mistakes and effectively make you dumber? That’s scary, because we live in world where constant distractions are the norm. Whether it’s a phone alert, an email, a background video, or a chatty friend—distractions are costing you much more than you probably realize.
Let’s get right to the facts of this matter and then use them to improve your research skills and the quality of almost everything you do.
First, studies have revealed that distractions exponentially increase errors. Even interruptions as brief as three seconds—according to a 2014 study in the Journal of Experimental Psychology—were enough to double the number of errors people made while completing an assigned task. And get this, the same study found that 4.4-second long interruptions caused certain errors to triple!
Likewise, a series of experiments published in 2008 found that “an entirely irrelevant distractor can interfere with task performance” by causing “increased error rates” and “response times.”
This means distractions can not only be harmful but deadly. Think I’m exaggerating? For people working in hospitals, factories, and offices where mental sharpness or attention to detail is vital to safety or performance, mistakes can make the difference between life and death.
And this is not just about mistakes. As I said before, distractions make us effectively dumber.
A 2013 study conducted at Carnegie Mellon University founded that people’s comprehension skills declined by 20% if they were interrupted twice while reading a short passage. That’s enough to turn a B-minus student with a grade of 80 into a failure with a 62.
Two experiments published in 2017 found that “even when people are successful at maintaining sustained attention—as when avoiding the temptation to check their phones—the mere presence of these devices reduces available cognitive capacity. Moreover, these cognitive costs are highest for those highest in smartphone dependence.”
Did you catch that? The more dependent you are on your smartphone, the greater the temptation it will be, and the lower your cognitive capacity will be
And what we affectionately call “multitasking” is also a form of distraction. Even if multitasking feels comfortable and normal, studies reveal that it hurts our ability to focus on what’s important, organize our thoughts, and filter out irrelevant information.
A study published in 2009 by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences found that heavy media multitasking makes people “suckers for irrelevancy,” to borrow the words of one the authors. “Everything distracts them,” he said. You wouldn’t happen to know anyone like that, would you?
Neuroscientists have even found physical differences in the brains of heavy multitaskers—and spoiler—it’s not for the better.
So what can we do? We can’t eliminate all potential distractions, but we can minimize them. If you want to research and perform other tasks to the best of your ability, follow these simple steps:
- Set your phone to “Do Not Disturb” so it won’t even vibrate. Remember, even 2-second interruptions can hamper your efforts. Most phones allow you to choose “Favorites” who can get to through while you are in this mode, so you don’t worry about missing emergency calls or texts.
- Turn off all those pesky notifications on your computer, including emails, social media, and anything else that frequently pops up on the corner of your screen. To increase your productivity across the board, only check those several times a day.
- Make a conscious decision to stop multitasking. It’s not a skill to master, but rather a habit to break because it decreases your cognitive capacity and quality of your work.
- Consider your environment. Work in places with less distractors, like a nook in the library or a quiet room. Also, clear your desk or work area so other things aren’t pulling your eyes away from the task at hand.
- If you have major task, resolve to work on it—and only it—for at least one uninterrupted hour at a time. As explained by Professor Gloria Mark, who specializes in the study of distractions:
When I write a research article, it takes me a couple of hours before I can even begin to think creatively. If I was switching every 10 and half minutes, there’s no way I’d be able to think deeply about what I’m doing.
So get in the zone, think deeply, and be care-ful with your work. You can do all this and more if you simply decrease distractions.
So take these practical steps, put in the effort, and apply the 7 Standards of Credibility, so you can research like a genius.
" Conservative News Daily does not always share or support the views and opinions expressed here; they are just those of the writer."
*As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases
