Access to information can create a sense of urgency.  Incoming texts, emails, or social media alerts can make you feel like you need to respond to them.  A notification on your phone can shift your awareness from one thing to another.  Without the discipline to ignore the message or postpone looking at it until later, you can easily get sucked into doing something else.

Turning off alerts or even setting your phone’s screen to black and white vs. color can help with reducing the distraction created by the phone.  Awareness of new information may feel like it’s making you smarter or more aware, but it is still just a distraction.

Overcoming the lure of technology and access to junk information starts with having a clear idea of what you need.  This becomes the filter to screen inbound messages and notifications. When you are getting only what you need, then you can be more focused on what you are going after.  Getting rid of unwanted emails has never been easier as I scan and sort messages by relevance.  If it’s not needed I don’t read it.

The more clarity you have about your goals will make you more focused on how to go about achieving them–and how you use technology and information to help you get there.

[Photo:  Slow information.]