Less Distracted at Work by Your Phone

You put your phone on silent. You put it a little further away. You decide to check it later.

And yet you pick it up sooner than planned.

That has little to do with discipline. The barrier to picking up your phone is simply lower than the barrier to keep working in a focused way.

What Distraction Costs a Workday

After every interruption, it takes an average of more than twenty minutes before you're fully focused again.

Anyone who checks their phone several times an hour unknowingly loses a large part of their effective working time.

Three Adjustments That Work Immediately

Phone Physically Outside the Work Space

Put your phone in another room, a drawer or in your bag.

As long as your phone is literally visible, it constantly invites you to look at it.

Fixed Work Blocks Without Availability

Decide in advance when you are reachable and when you are not.

Without clear boundaries, a workday mostly consists of sessions that are constantly interrupted.

Notifications Fully Off During Work Blocks

Every notification on the phone pulls attention, even when you don't pick it up.

Turn off notifications from social media and news entirely.