How do I stop getting distracted while working?

Decide what you're working on before you start, put your phone out of sight with notifications off, and work in timed blocks with breaks you've planned in advance. When a distraction shows up, write it down and deal with it at the next break.

That sounds simple because it is. The hard part isn't knowing what to do; it's that your environment is built to interrupt you. Here's what the research says about why, and what actually helps.

Why distraction is so hard to beat

Switching is the default. Gloria Mark, a professor at UC Irvine who has studied attention at work for two decades, has found that people now switch screens about every 47 seconds on average, down from about two and a half minutes in 2004. That number describes how long people stay on one screen, not a limit of the brain, but it shows how fragmented a normal workday has become.

Average time on one screen before switching · one dot per 5 seconds

2004about 2½ minutes

Todayabout 47 seconds

Interruptions cost more than their length. In a 2008 experiment, Mark and colleagues found that interrupted people finished their work just as fast and just as accurately, but by working faster, with more stress, frustration and time pressure. The work gets done; you pay for it in strain.

Your attention lags behind you. Sophie Leroy, a researcher at the University of Washington Bothell, named this attention residue: when you switch tasks, part of your attention stays on the one you left, especially if it's unfinished. Performance on the new task suffers.

Illustration · attention after a switch

Switch mid-task

Task ATask B

Note where you stopped, then switch

Task ATask B

Notifications distract even when you ignore them. In a 2015 study, Cary Stothart and colleagues found that receiving a call or text notification, without answering it, disrupted performance on an attention-demanding task about as much as actually using the phone. The authors suggest the alert sets off mind-wandering.

What helps

1. Choose one task before you start

Write down the single thing you'll work on next. "Edit the intro of the proposal" is better than "work on the proposal." A specific task gives you something to return to when your mind drifts.

2. Remove the triggers you can

You can't control every interruption, but you can control the most frequent ones.

• Silence your phone and put it out of sight, not just face-down. Based on the notification research above, an alert you ignore still costs you.
• Close tabs and apps you don't need for this task, including email and chat.
• Tell people when you're focusing. A status like "Focusing until 2:25" sets expectations without a conversation.

3. Work in timed blocks

A timer turns "focus all afternoon" into "focus for the next 25 minutes," which is much easier to start and to protect. It also gives you a natural stopping point, so you're not tempted to quit in the middle. This is the core of the Pomodoro Technique.

4. Write distractions down instead of acting on them

Keep a scrap of paper or a note next to you. When you remember an email you need to send, write it down and go back to work. You'll handle the list at your next break. This turns "I must do this now" into "I'll do this in 12 minutes," which is usually enough to let it go.

Illustration · one block and its break

025m30m

For the break

• Reply to Sammin 6
• Book the dentistmin 13
• Look up that articlemin 19

5. Leave a note before you switch

Leroy's later research with Theresa Glomb suggests a fix for attention residue: before you're pulled away from a task, take a moment to note where you stopped and what you'll do next. Knowing you can pick it back up makes it easier to let go of it. A short line in your session log does the job.

6. Take real breaks

Breaks are part of focus, not a reward for it. Stand up, move, look at something far away. Avoid starting a second task on your break, especially your phone, which is designed to be hard to put down.

If you have ADHD

Many people with ADHD find timed blocks especially useful, because they make tasks easier to start and time easier to feel. Shorter blocks of 10 to 15 minutes are a common starting point. This isn't a treatment, and what works varies from person to person.

The short version

Pick one task. Silence the phone and hide it. Set a timer. Write distractions down. Take the break. Then do it again.

Sources

• Mark, G. Interview and research summary: How to sharpen your attention and meet your goals, University of California (2024).
• Mark, G., Gudith, D., & Klocke, U. (2008). The cost of interrupted work: More speed and stress. Proceedings of CHI 2008, 107–110. PDF
• Leroy, S. (2009). Why is it so hard to do my work? The challenge of attention residue when switching between work tasks. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 109(2), 168–181. doi:10.1016/j.obhdp.2009.04.002
• Stothart, C., Mitchum, A., & Yehnert, C. (2015). The attentional cost of receiving a cell phone notification. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance. doi:10.1037/xhp0000100
• University of Washington Bothell, An ongoing study on the success of staying focused (on Leroy and Glomb's research into attention residue and "ready-to-resume" plans).