Canadian Government Executive - Volume 26 - Issue 02

O ur days are filled with distractions and noise. So whatever our other skills, we must hone our ability to focus better – or as best-selling au- thor Nir Eyal puts it, become indis- tractable . “In the future there will be two kinds of people in the world: Those who let their attention and lives be controlled and coerced by others and those who proudly call themselves ‘indistractable,’” he writes in his book Indistractable. The notion of distraction is routinely tied these days to our smart phones and the influence of so- cial media. But he takes a broader tack since we can be distracted in many other ways, notably our own mind. He relates how he tried to sharpen his focus by buying a 1990 word processor without an online connection yet still found himself easily finding distractions unrelated to his work. He divides our days into two categories: traction and distraction. Distraction impedes us from mak- ing progress towards the life we seek. Traction – from the Latin trahere, “to draw or pull” – takes us towards what we want in life. How much of your day is traction? How much of your day is distraction? To increase the former you can try – you prob- ably already are – various productivity hacks. But he suggests digging deeper. If traction takes us to- wards what we want in life, we need to consider what it is we want – and that extends beyond the day’s to-do list, which could be diversions from big- ger goals. “Instead of starting with what we’re go- ing to do, we should begin with why we’re going to do it. And to do that, we must begin with values,” he says. That can help deflect the external triggers that pull you away from intentions, taking you from traction to distraction. Specifically, focus on how you allocate your time in three key life domains: you, your relationships, and your work. He stresses that although some values carry over into all facets of our life, most are specific to one area. You want to be a contributing member of your team at work. But you also want to be a loving spouse or parent. And you may be intent on being physically fit or keep active in a hobby or community group. The trouble is we don’t make room for our values and can easily spend too much of our time in one area of our life. Determine your values and then start scheduling your time – beginning with your own needs – to achieve your intentions. “It doesn’t so much mat- ter what you do with your time; rather, success is measured by whether you did what you planned to do. It’s fine to watch a video, scroll social media, daydream, or take a nap, as long as that’s what you planned to do. Alternatively, checking work email, a seemingly productive task, is a distraction if it’s done when you intend to spend time with your fam- ily or work on a presentation,” he notes. Something that will be hard – but that he insists is essential – is to schedule time for yourself first. “You are at the center of the three life domains. Without allocating time for yourself, the other two domains suffer,” he notes. Next, schedule important relation- ships. He plans a special date with his wife twice a month. Finding he was being distracted by unex- pected events in other parts of life and not spending enough time with his daughter, he blocked out time in his schedule every week to be with her. To make good use of that time, they spent one afternoon writing down over a hundred things to do together in town, each one on a little strip of paper. Those went into a “fun jar,” and every Friday afternoon, they pull out something to do from it. As well as taking time to schedule around values, once a week spend 15 minutes reflecting on how you can get more traction in the days ahead. Ask when in your schedule you did what you said you would and when you got distracted. Then figure out what changes you can make to your calendar to bet- ter live your values – to be more indistractable. Joe McCormack, managing director of the BRIEF lab, an organization dedicated to teaching profes- sionals how to think and communicate clearly, Indistractable By Nir Eyal Ben Bella Books, 300 pages, $34.99 Noise By Joseph McCormack Wiley, 275 pages, $29.99 24 / Canadian Government Executive // March/April 2020 The Leader’s Bookshelf By Harvey Schachter The Leader’s Bookshelf