Great points Rich. We always do what we want to do and a successful marketer always tries to make us want to get his/her stuff - whether we really need it is not that important.

Once we can condition ourselves (you are bang on target, we are not unable, just that we don’t try hard enough) to not get distracted by petty attractions, we can more easily stay on course and reach our target.

Uh, I feel stupid for being here instead of working.

Ouch.

Sten

Rich, thanks for continuing this discussion.
(I dropped what I was working on to read it. LOL)
Jokingly, I say it’s because I’m blond, senile and have ADHD. Distractions are a more serious problem for me than interruptions.
Just by bring this issue to the forefront, you are doing a great service.
Thanks
Larry Foster

Rich: I call this tendency “fetch” — I’ve been “following the bouncing ball” of distraction for years and it just leaves me dog tired.

I find that avoiding the interruptions are much easier than avoiding the distractions. As you indicate, that requires an inner discipline that should come “standard” for all entrepreneurs, but I struggle with it daily.

For a long time I enjoyed telling people that I was a “writer.” It sounded impressive and, truth be told, I had written several things as a professional. However, after a while, I realized that I was writing far less than I was promoting myself as a writer. I had the title down, but I hadn’t really earned it — financially or in terms of the work necessary to make it a self-fulfilling prophecy.

I think many online entrepreneurs do the same. We like the “idea” of being independent internet marketers, but we’re not willing to do the work necessary to make it a reality. Your knowledge helps bridge the gap and should inspire us all.

My interests in virtually all things sometimes eclipses my discipline for the one thing — building my business — that should be my paramount concern.

Thanks for this dose of “blog tonic” … The medicine may not taste good, but it’s necessary for our business health.

Philip

This me. Gotta do something about it.

Another great heads-up. It’s true that I should be working right this minute, but reading your blog is one interruption I feel is justified. It always helps be get back in focus if I’ve started to drift.

Not sure if I was Interrupted or Distracted but either way I ended up here.
Time to get back to work! Bye…

This blog is so awesome that I’m seriously thinking about putting the RSS feed directly on my site.

I immediately want to go lay out all of the steps necessary for every single project, get to work, and just get off of everybody else’s list. I don’t even want to have to waste a single second THINKING about whether or not to read that email or take the time to hit the DELETE button.

Alex Mandossian talks focusing the same way (I wonder why he wasn’t at that famous networking meeting in Texas?). He also talks about using a timer, putting your head down, and doing only productive, revenue-generating activity while the timer is running.

Thank you so much for your constant reminders about what’s REALLY important in one’s business.

Dr. Andrew Colyer
http://www.DrAndrewColyer.com

I like to think that this type of interruption is more of a redirection
back to the task of following my main goal and purpose in life.
It was refeshing. Thank you!

Interruptions at times are fine. I call them Metal Breaks. Sometimes we need to stop what we are doing just to get focused after a little break. I usually don’t read any of this, when I go to a page like this, first I look to the right and see how much space it takes and realize this is going go be a long read. I also scroll down to the bottom, if there is a Credit Card sign, I delete it. This is the first I read all the way through, my mental break here. Interesting points, thanks, now what was I doing ??

The main reason we get distracted is that it offers us a way to avoid an unpleasant or daunting task. We will find anything to do other than the task that needs to be done. As one trainer in our field once said, every day we must eat a frog. What he meant was, the first thing you must do when you start your day is to attack the most difficult task, the one you just don’t want to do. Eat that frog…get er done! You will waste a lot less time during the day, and feel much better about yourself.

Right on the point Rich
You are just telling what problems many people faces - my self included. Often I start my day very focused but after a couple of hours interruptions start to come and tend to take away focus. I think the solution might be to have more persistance in the highly focused hours and not let interruptions get in the way.
I think you are touching with a very important subject here, Rich.
Thanks for bringing it up.

Peder Andersen
www.pederandersen.com

Thanks but I’d rather have not had this distraction. An email telling me to visit a blog to find an article about NOT being distracted? Where is the sense in that?

Good article, you are now going off my mail subscription list, so I can get on with applying the good advice.

The problem most people have with information overload is because they lack a good foundation. Everyone wants to somehow circumvent the learning curve. I don’t care what you do, including working behind the counter at McDonald’s, there is a learning curve. If you really want to learn focus that you can translate into just about any discipline, study a martial art, Yoga or how to play a musical instrument. Most young people these days simply lack the focus.

The problem is not only one of increased information but also one of decreased attention spans. I am 47 years old so I have seen it happen. First there was the newspaper for the beginning of attention deficit generation called USA today. Information compression has since accelerated. Still, the best filter one can have for the useless is a command of your subject matter.

Another point - where is the idea of happiness in all of this business development talk? Why do most people seem to necessarily assume that more money equals more happiness? I guess there are some things I just don’t get about young people these days.

Thanks for the food for thought, Rich, I enjoy it.

Rich,
THis is the first time I have responded to your blog but this concept is right on the money. Dan Sullivan (The Strategic Coach) talks about dividing your days up into FREE, FOCUS, and BUFFER days. This has helped me tremendously over the past few years. I believe that most people just dont know how inefficient they are - so bringing the problem to light is the first part of the solution. Tim obviously did this rather well in the 4 hour workweek. The bigger point though is that it (distractions, inefficiency etc…) is an ADDICTION. An addiction as powerful as any drug and one that could hurt your pocketbook just as bad. Some people are addicted to work and have a hard time vacationing. I used to be literally addicted to email. It seemed like a christmas gift or little shiny present every time i would hear the jingle. AND I was addicted to replying FAST so people would know Im all over it, that I was on top of everything. THE only solution is first recognizing how bad you are hurting yourself if you are allowing all these distractions to get to you AND then doing exactly what you described - break up each Project into tasks that can be done with a deadline!
Thanks Man
Greg

It is hard to break habits that we have had for long periods of time. I know firsthand LOL!

The written step by step plan with a set time frame for accomplishing each step is critical in breaking out of the distraction downfall.

Hey, I still allocate some time to the distractions I so enjoy!

Ted

HI

I agree with your blog about interruption, the interent is very informative

and one can get distracted very easily, this happens to me somtimes too.

keep up the good work on your blog.

Thank you

Great Message, I think that some people can be distracted and interrupted by many things… I need to work on being less distracted or interrupted or interruptable LOL and get the work done that needs to be done. Make a list and start getting Some TRAFFIC to my Website! That’s what I need to focus on right now is getting traffic to my website!

Thanks For your advice and wisdom Rich!

David King,

http://Top7siteneeds.com

“Where Site Needs Are Met With Quality Resources”

Thanks Rich,

To stay away from interruptions, I keep my IM off and only check emails once every night, after a days work.

That’s how I arrived at reading your blog now (at night).

Thanks for adding so much value to me. Keep them coming, Rich!

Great point about the danger of being more focused on the ‘busy-ness’ of the race more than creating good results. When I find myself not getting the results I’d like, often I’ll just call a ‘time-out’ and sit back to see what it is I REALLY need to do next. Often what I’m doing is not what I really SHOULD be doing…

Re-focusing and re-energizing are as important as actually doing the work. I just took a week off to do that (travel and vacation with friends) and now I’m re-energized, re-focused and realigned with my purpose.

Interruption / Distraction. External / Internal. At the end it has the same effect on us. We loss focus.
Even though this email did interrupted me, still think is worth it. Because makes me aware of the reasons why things hardly or never get done and sometimes did not know why.

Will continue in your list Rich and will keep reading every single line you trow at us. . . . thanks again.

Rich, i really wish you would stop sending me such good, distracting, hits-me-right-in-the gut ideas while i’m trying to GET MY TASKS DONE.
-charleS

Hey, this was a interesting interruption. Just about every post was honest and from the heart.

It’s easy to have this problem. I think I personally must change to be more successful in every area of my life.

My wife and I work to gether and it’s easy to get side tracked with questions on spelling or computer problems.

When I get up in the morning I usually am focused for a two or three hours period and then my mind drifts to something different. I will to improve my concentration and get more accomplished.
Thank you all for your thoughts.
Jim

Well, not to get to fluffy here, but I’ll posit that a lot of outer distraction really comes from inner distraction, which is all about a lack of self confidence and fear of success. And a well formulated question (really well formulated) will indicate the answer; yes, hunting for information is often fruitless. When I really need to solve something I create a mental diagram of what I have so far and what I need and look at it in my mind’s eye for about 3 minutes. Then I tell my subconscious to do its work and forget about it & veg out on the couch and watch kung fu flicks or something. Usually within a day all of a sudden my answer will hit me sideways from out of nowhere. I can’t think of when this technique has failed.
I’m looking forward to part II of the Attention Deficit Doctrine.

You know, its true whats been said, you just got to stay focussed and forget the interupptions.

It was a great article and I look forward to more of it.

Amarnath Tennakoon
CEO
Ensys (Pvt) Ltd

As someone who was continually reminded of the need to concentrate, I always find time a means of achieving focus by trying to do as much in as little time as possible. The sense of having “too much time” is in some ways an excuse to get distracted and go off on tangental routes which may or may not bring your goal to fruition. Imposing your self-discipline to get your thoughts aligned correctly and then knowing that you have achieved what you set out to do is always a gratifying feeling, however long it takes.

This is a great article, full of bottom line truth that we need to hear. I read recently that a study was done that showed that each interruption costs us up to 20 minutes of valuable time.That includes the time taken by the interruption, plus 3-6 minutes to recover and get back in focus

This is a very provocative post. Your very first assertion, that interruptions are in the eye of the interrupted, acknowledges that not all interruptions are unimportant. This assertion is supported by your next key statement:

“Trouble is, you won’t realize whether or not the information is important until
you’ve given it your attention.”

Unfortunately, the remainder of the post narrowly focuses on one class of interruptions and distractions - those that occur in the workplace. While this class is relevant to the readers of your blog, addressing the negative consequences that this class has on a business owner’s productivity in terms of said owner’s indecisiveness is a non-sequitur.
Consider the two statements made in the post:
1. Workplace interruptions and distractions serve one disturbing purpose: they take us off course.
2. Instead of doing what your business needs you to do, you end up doing what you want to do.

The tenuous link between the two, that is, the CONSEQUENCES “[of] allowing interruptions to sidetrack us - by giving in to the pull of distraction” is not strong enough to reach the desired conclusion that “we simply delay our primary gratification: the knowledge and pride in a job well done and the financial reward that comes with it.”

The reason the link breaks is that doing what we are supposed to do is not dependent upon the elimination of interruptions.

I agree that, if you accept the definitions given in the post, doing what we are supposed to do depends upon refusing to give in to the pull of DISTRACTIONS.
Dealing with INTERRUPTIONS is a part of business. Successful people learn to PRIORITIZE, DELEGATE and PROCESS interruptions effectively.

To summarize, I believe that the simple act of linking interruptions AND distractions to loss of business efficiency invalidates an otherwise important and useful essay. This post addresses two very different business challenges, but only offers a solution for one. Yet, that solution does not resolve the title of the post.

Thanks for making me think!

Mitch

Great article - now I can quit chasing dust bunnies!

Good article, i know that is the big prospec business in the future of in my country. And I want to do it for pasive income in here. But My problem is dont have credit card,visa or some much money in dollar then not yet computer in my hand. I want change my finance of life but that is my problem now. And I believe if that all business to I to translate in my Indonesian,can the big an grow up in here.
Hwo is can help with an coorporate with me for the future??
Thanks
rohwisnu

Ouch! Ouch! Ouch! Email and surfing are my biggest distractions. I think I realized this subconsciously, but now I’ve got no excuse. Discipline it is from now on. Thanks, I really needed that kick in the pants.

Thanks Rich…

Back to the grindstone!

Any more videos coming soon?

There’s another great guy out there who’s referred to this as “gemmelsmerch” - “The force that distracts the mind or steals it away from what it wants to do or ought to be doing.”
Thanks for the reminder!

Rich,

The keyword when you speak about the “attention age” is, “Selective.” Yes, you are correct to say that we need to be focused and diciplined, however, part of the focus is knowing which distraction will enhance your focus. Sounds almost contradictory.

Take answering your e-mail for instance. Today,I am so focused ( relentless is probably a better choice), I am reading from people who are known authorities and can aid me towards my goals of acheivement. Our goals should include, constantly striving to improve. How do we improve? By reading and applying what we learn.

That’s where being selective comes in. You must make a list, either mental or written, and only open or spend your valuable time learning from those who can really help you achieve your goals.

The next part of the selectivity process narrows it down even further. Stick to a topic or two to focus on. I have found that when I am trying to accomplish too many things in too mnay areas, the productivity level goes down. Riight now I am mastering our autoresponder, squeeze pages, and lists. Next week is Headline and text changes and then match everything with new meta tags, descriptions, etc… for SEO.
Adwords focusing is what you do in between all the other focusing….:)

The bottom line is to be very selective on who you listen to and what topics you need to pay attention to. Many times I will open an e-mail from a trusted authority and “save” it until I am ready to dive into that topic.

How to present your ideas, goals, passions, and sincerity to a targeted group of people is one thing, but getting them to your site and then haveing them trust you enough to purchase is another. You need all the tools, but you can only focus in one area at a time.

Any one have any other ideas which can further increase ones attention?

Thanks,
Donna M Smith
http://www.truthabouttrucking.com
http://www.guaranteemove.com

Curiosity killed the cat.

When it comes to learn to thing big then it comes to Rich. Thank you for your advise . It helped me a great deal…

Thanks for the article Rich.

Good stuff and right on as usual.

Doug

Focus is important.

Sometimes distractions can bring growth as well.

Rich has talked about his own ADD and how it helps him move forward.

Like the racehorse analogy though.

Tim Ferriss got me to check email just once a day and that alone has been amazing for my focus. Mike Litman teaches about the power of focus a lot. I wondered if I should come here to read the article… was I being duped? I’d have to admit I gave in to the distraction… but after reading it, I will say that I am now even more well armed to keep focus. Very Valuable Stuff once again Rich. Thank you! And great honest comments by the readers, that’s cool!

Dear Rich,

It’s an encouraging article thanks.

Interruption and distraction are part of life, nobody could eliminate them any of those. The flow of life is constant, spontaneous and dynamic. There are options that needs immediate response and some could be procrastinated then.

It’s hard oftentimes to distinguish between the priority options than the other secondary choice. To feel hungry is the real example that needs interruption. If you live alone, you need to cook for your dinner. If somebody calls your help, you need to intervene. Like what happen to me this time, I was reading lot of my email and then I finished to read this wonderful article of yours; I left my email box just to compose my comment here. These are examples of interruption.

To change the goal and objective of business could be distraction. Sometimes it’s easy to loose in the ocean of oppotunities and tempted to be deviated towards the outer occasions. Doubts persist and temptation demands.

There are infinite opportunities that can influence your business goal and lured to change and change your website because you have infinite stored ideas and it seems you’re not contented wit it. Or else, you came into the best hypothesis of creating another business than promoting your original idea. You’re tempted to step out, ouch!

If this is the case, you need to win and defeat the temptation of embracing new ideas at the expense of your original business. You need focus, attention and less distraction. You must learn to eliminate the multiple opportuniities that would be the vehicle of loosing your focus towards your dream.

You’ll not succeed unless you lack of focus. You can’t reach the port of your destination if you stop and enchanted with the fascinating view of the horizon. You need to navigate and continue to travel on the same vessel and with the same captain and planned destination, that all folks.

To your success,

Dr. Sage Bizmind
http://www.bizmindset.com

Hi Rick,

In answer to your question “Do you have an interruption problem, a distraction problem, or an indecision problem?”

The Answer is “Yes and No”.

But to add further to you message

Absolutely…

1. Find your true north.
2. Stay focused.
3. Keep taking steps towards reaching your goal.
4. Monitor results and make adjust if required.

A plan helps
A desire is essential
A passion gets you out of bed
And some discipline helps you stick with the yucky bits and th system.

(TIP: Do yucky bits first)

The the big question though… how to make these techniques a habit? a way of life.

Use them for 30 day.

Easier said than done, but now I have no excuse.

Jeff

Thumps up! it’s a great article. I enjoyed it; and 1′m looking forward to the 2nd part of the “Attention Age Doctorine”.