Strategies to Stay Focused in the Age of Social Media Distractions

Did you know that one in four employees spend a significant part of their workday on social media?

Social media sites are engineered to be almost as addictive as crack. Skeptical? Just observe the people you encounter on your way to work every morning. Chances are, many don't even look at you as you pass by; their eyes are glued to their phones.

While we can't discount social media's massive positive contributions, we also can't ignore the negative ones. You may be wasting time you'd otherwise spend being productive.

Luckily, you can manage social media distractions. In this article, we'll look at the challenges posed by social media, provide tips to help you stay focused, and suggest some tools you can use to help you remain focused.

Challenges posed by social media distractions

Social media has undoubtedly transformed modern-day businesses. Small businesses have a fighting chance, as they can access the same audiences as large companies without spending as much money as they would have before social media. 

Even so, social media has proven to be a double-edged sword. Businesses must also contend with constant distractions and their impact on employee productivity. Here are common challenges posed by social media distractions:

Reduced productivity

Frequent notifications from social media sites can interrupt employees' train of thought when working. Switching between social media and work tasks can be mentally draining, reducing productivity. 

Studies have shown that it takes approximately 23 minutes to regain focus after a distraction. This means that your business not only faces productivity issues brought on by distractions but also the post-distraction. 

Time-wasting

People often underestimate the time they spend on social media. Checking one notification could lead to hours of mindlessly browsing, leaving less time for meaningful tasks. 

Roughly 9% of employees waste over 40 hours per month surfing the internet. Multiply these hours by your hourly wage, and you'll find that your business loses quite some money. This is risky for small businesses, as many already operate with limited resources. 

Procrastination

Social media platforms offer numerous opportunities for procrastination. Employees can easily transition from one site to another. This often results in unfinished tasks and missed deadlines.

Some employees may be forced to work during their personal time to compensate for lost working time. This is problematic as it raises the issue of poor work-life balance.

Reduced attention span

Social media content is specially curated to be short, absorbing, and attention-grabbing. Consistent exposure to social media can reprogram the brain to expect everything else to be just as short and exciting. If we are being honest, work rarely is any of these things. Thus, employees may find it more challenging to focus on their work.

Impaired memory

Research shows that constant social media distractions can change your memory processes. Often, the brain assumes it doesn't need to hold on to what one sees, as it'll likely come across it multiple times. 

Over time, this can affect how it processes data, making it harder to retain information. Your business may be in trouble if employees constantly need to learn new things. 

Poor social interactions

The more one gives into social media distractions, the more likely they are to choose to browse their phone over face-to-face interactions. While this may seem harmless, one may come to prefer online communication over actually talking to colleagues. This can impact teamwork and collaboration, some of the most vital ingredients for a successful business.

Strategies to help you stay focused amid social media distractions

Social media distractions are cues that ultimately lead you to social media platforms. These cues can be internal, like constantly thinking about unanswered messages or believing social media will help you fight boredom. They can also be external, like constant notification icons or news feed updates. You must manage both to focus on work. Here are some strategies that may prove helpful:

Identify your cues

You can only work on something you've identified. Start by observing your social media patterns. What emotional, mental, or physical triggers encourage you to browse through social media sites during work hours?

Ask employees to do the same. You can motivate them to identify cues by creating an environment that allows them to discuss distractions openly. Let them know even the most strong-willed individuals are victims of social media distractions and that you're there to help. Identifying your cues together will help you implement more targeted distraction-management strategies. 

Reset your routines

The more dependent you are on social media, the more likely distractions like notifications will affect you. Change your routine to reduce the amount of time you spend on social media.

Rather than scroll through sites before sleep and immediately you wake up, adopt positive rituals and encourage your team to do the same. Positive habits include meditation, exercise, and social-media-free hobbies like painting or reading. 

Use a web blocker

This is an excellent strategy if you constantly move from work-related tasks to social media in the same browser. Identify the sites you're the most susceptible to and activate your web blocker feature to prevent you from accessing them during work hours. 

Let your team know you plan to activate web blockers a few days or weeks before doing so. Also, explain your reasons for taking this step. Communicating beforehand shows you value and trust them. They may also offer valuable input on concerns you have yet to consider regarding the web blockers.

There are numerous web blockers in the market today, each with unique selling points. Common options include Cold Turkey and Freedom. Cold Turkey is suitable for system-wide control. It blocks listed sites throughout all browsers, meaning one can't access distraction sites even when they change their browser. Freedom's unique selling point is that it blocks listed sites across all devices at once. 

Set goals

People who work with no goal in mind are more likely to give in to distractions than those with clear objectives. Write down the goals you want to achieve to help manage internal cues when they arise. 

If you're a small business owner, set clear project deadlines for your team. Knowing they have limited time to complete tasks can help them prioritize their jobs over social media.

But don't just set goals and deadlines and leave your team alone. Discuss how minimizing social media distractions can help them meet the set deadlines. 

Create a reward system

A reward system can help change behavior. Reward yourself with a break or a coffee incentive when you stay off social media during work hours. 

If you're a business owner, ask your employees what they'd like as rewards. Some may want recognition, and others tangible rewards like bonuses. Assess your financial situation to determine what you can afford. 

Get out of the office

Boredom can increase your chances of falling into the allure of social media distractions. Change things up by encouraging out-of-office work days. You and your employees can work from home some days a week. 

You can also plan no-tech retreats and ask employees not to carry their devices. This isn't to say you should plan retreats every month - assess your budget to determine whether or how often you can afford them.

AI-driven tools you can leverage 

There's no better way to beat technology than with technology. The right tools can help you combat the impacts of social media distractions. Here are some technologies to add to your arsenal of distraction-management tools:

Task schedulers

Think of task schedulers as modern-day to-do lists. They can help your team prioritize tasks, making them less susceptible to distractions. When used in groups, these tools can show which team members are doing which tasks and how they're progressing. They're likely to focus on their duties when they know their progress is being monitored. 

Motion's task manager will help you build your day from the tasks you have been assigned. It contains an auto-prioritization feature that shows you which tasks to start on first. The tool warns you when a deadline is coming up so you know when to limit social media usage.

Project management apps

You can use project management apps to help monitor your team. They can show the status of your team's projects, allowing you to create an effective reward system. 

Motion's project management tool can help you filter tasks by their deadlines, priority, or assignee. Filtering tasks by assignee can help you identify performing and non-performing team members. You can focus your distraction-management strategies on the latter if they can't focus on their work because of social media distractions. 

Time trackers

Time trackers can help you identify the sites you spend most of your time on. Then, you can adjust your web blockers accordingly. 

Time tracking tools like RescueTime give users visuals of their day. RescueTime tracks how much time you spend working and browsing social media platforms. It then provides a detailed report, allowing you to identify websites consuming most of your time. This information can help you determine the best distraction-management strategy for your team. 

Let Motion help you stay focused

You can stay focused in the age of social media by regulating internal and external cues that may make you susceptible to distractions. Manage internal cues by changing your routines, setting goals, and creating a reward system. Regulate external distractions by turning off notifications and leveraging AI solutions.

Motion allows you to plan and monitor each member of your team's progress. Employees are less likely to be distracted when they have precise tasks and deadlines fed to them by their calendars. Motion's Intelligent Calendar also tells you when you'll likely miss deadlines, allowing you to reprioritize your work over distractions.