| If you had to guess, how many emails do you think you read each day?
What about social media posts?
Online articles?
In 2009, the University of California, San Diego published a study that said: “The average American consumes about 34 GB of data and information every day – an increase of about 350% over nearly three decades.”
And that was back in 2009!
While this study hasn’t been updated recently, the average amount of data created each day in 2020 was estimated at 2.5 quintillion data bytes by Domo, a cloud software company based in Utah.
Anyway, this onslaught of data has killed our ability to focus.
On a given day, I am constantly bombarded by notifications—chimes from emails, hearts from social media—that at the end of each day, when I’m thinking about what I accomplished, my brain sometimes draws a blank.
What about you?
And this data isn’t just distracting. When we cannot concentrate fully, we experience fewer breakthroughs in our personal lives and in our business.
While there doesn’t seem to be anything to slow down the creation of data, there are ways and tools to help us sharpen our concentration and keep us on task.
Here are three that I think are worth giving a try:
1. Block distractions from your desktop with Heyfocus for Mac and FocusMe for PC.
Heyfocus is an application and website blocker to help you stay on task while working online. There’s no avoiding the internet in your line of work, but blocking sites like Facebook or Amazon can do wonders in keeping you focused during the workday.
2. Group your emails with BatchedInbox.
I was sold by the tagline “Email is Not the Boss of You.” The premise of the app is simple. Instead of receiving and reacting with a Pavlovian response by opening each email as it hits your inbox, BatchedInbox groups your emails and delivers them only at certain moments during the day.
3. Turn off notifications on your phone.
You can do this manually or use an app like Dewo, which takes app notifications and puts a virtual “do not disturb” sign by your name. The app also gives you suggestions on how to maximize your time better.
We live in the information age, but we don’t have to be a slave to data around us.
Take control of what you let in!
To Your Success, Paul Hanson
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