3 Strategies to Stop Screen Distractions from Sabotaging Your Productivity

In situations where we are the sole guarantor of our work, distractions can prove to be a major problem that results in loss of time and laziness.

For example, when faced with complex problems at work or during study, our brains may slowly try to run away from them.
This translates into becoming interested in useless things:

checking our smartphones for new messages
scrolling for new content on social networks
doing unrelated easy tasks….

As you might expect, no perfect solution can be applied to anyone, as it depends on the type of distraction and on the eventual medical condition of each individual (i.e., addictions, attention disorder… have a big impact on the ability to focus).

What we can do is acting on the external factors that influence the ability to focus.

Today, let’s dive into 3 tips to prevent your phone screen from catching your attention!

The Focus mode

Recently, most of the smartphones introduced an exceptional feature: the ability to activate a focus mode.

This focus mode removes notifications and restrain the access to apps that are considered distracting. The mode can be switched on and off manually, but it can also be configured to activate only during certain days/hours during the week.

Turning it on during working hours reveals itself a real decrease in distraction, as it requires an actual effort to disable the mode!
It propels us back to the control of the aircraft, as it is now a conscious choice to decide whether we want to continue working or distract ourselves from work.

We recommend blocking access to all media platforms that can be a source of distraction during a working session, including every social network (X, TikTok, Reddit…), online video platforms (YouTube, Netflix…), and news.

How to enable focus mode on iOS and Android.

The focus mode can be set up on Android by going to Android Settings → Digital Wellbeing → Focus mode.
On iOS, activate it by going to iOS Settings → Focus.

The Monochrome mode

Studies¹ show that every color has a specific wavelength, and each of these affects our body and brain in a different way.

Warm colors, like red, orange, and yellow, are known for being able to easily attract the eye and draw our attention. As you may expect, these colors are widely used in our daily used apps in order to keep us interested.

You may want to know: is there a way to get rid of this natural attraction phenomenon that keeps me constantly looking at my phone?

This is when ‘Monochrome’ (or ‘Grayscale’) mode enters the field.

Disabling colors of our smartphone significantly reduces the appeal that videos and images can have on our brain.

Checking our smartphone with gray nuances is flavorless, catchy social media images looks bland; it puts us back in control of our perception senses.

Combined with focus mode, these settings makes our smartphone recover its primary use: calling and texting only when needed.

Try it now! And see instantly how these Tik Tok or Instagram Reels have no appeal anymore!

How to enable Monochrome mode on iOS and Android.

The Monochrome mode can be enabled on Android by going to Android Settings → Accessibility → Vision.
On iOS, enable it by going to iOS Settings → Accessibility → Display & Text Size → Turn on Color Filters → Grayscale.
It can also be scheduled on Android by using Bedtime mode and enabling Grayscale in customize options, and on iOS by using Shortcuts → Automation.

Notifications

Here is the stat: the average person (16 to 64 years old) spends on screen about 6 hours 37 minutes per day². This behavior increases the difficulty to focus, as it can be pretty hard to get back to a task after interrupting it, and may cause our work to be prone to more errors.

That is why we recommend disabling all app notifications, except calls or SMS exchanges for urgent matters (like family). You may also turn off electronic devices (TV, connected watches, …) that could turn out to be a disturbance for you.

On the same topic, reading and answering emails correspond to a primary source of distraction and time loss. In fact, for the average employee, it represents 28% of time loss at work³, and a loss in cognitive capabilities when answering emails during a meeting.

To avoid this time loss, a technique is to define a fixed timespan (i.e., 20mn), each day, during which we are fully devoted to answering emails received the day before.

To sum up, our devices are engineered to capture and hold our attention through sophisticated psychological triggers.

We learned that regaining control over our attention requires deliberate action and conscious choices. These screen time prevention strategies we’ve discussed offer practical ways to reclaim our cognitive resources and use them for a better purpose.

The goal isn’t to eliminate technology from our lives, but rather, to establish a healthier relationship with it by identifying these triggers and taking appropriate action.

Want to learn more on how to keep focus for a long period of time when working on a task? Check out our article: “How to focus better during work or study?”.

References:

1. Elliot. Andrew J. (2015). “Color and Psychological Functioning: A Review of Theoretical and Empirical Work”.
2. Simon Kemp, on DataReportal website (2023). “Digital 2023: Global Overview Report”.
3. Michael Chui, James Manyika, Jacques Bughin, Richard Dobbs, Charles Roxburgh, Hugo Sarrazin, Geoffrey Sands, and Magdalena Westergren (2012). “The social economy: Unlocking value and productivity through social technologies”.