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In a time where there’s a global pandemic, a looming cicada

uprising, and millions of new trending topics a day on socials,
staying focused has been the hardest it’s ever been. Everyone
here at Medium has been struggling with productivity, and
consequently, we’ve really been into reading stories around
battling distractions. We wanted to share some of our favorites
with you, so here’s a roundup of a few standouts, courtesy of
your friends at Medium.

You Are Making Progress Towards Your Goals — Even if

it Doesn’t Feel Like it — 

Allison Wonchoba

When tackling a long-term project, all the to-do lists, short-term

goals, and supplementary tasks can seem overwhelming.
Whether you are frozen at the starting line by the sheer volume
of it all, or feeling stuck years into your creative journey, it can
sometimes be hard to find the motivation to continue
producing.

Allison Wonchoba uses author James Clear’s 1% rule (from his

book, Atomic Habits) to remind us that even a tiny amount of
progress every day adds up to a huge difference. So don’t dwell
on that long-term goal to the point that the journey becomes
unbearable. You will get there, but it will take time.
Wonchoba adds additional value to this 1% principle with
wonderful anecdotes to explain a variety of practices that help
you stay motivated throughout the journey, recognizing and
celebrating each step of your progress made along the way. It’s a
powerful reminder that we are all in this together, learning and
growing as we go.

— 
Sarah Marie
, curation

Knowing the Difference Between “Traction” and “Distraction”

will Change Your Life This Year — 

Nir Eyal

There’s a reason Nir Eyal’s books Hooked and Indistractable,

on maintaining one’s focus in a world full of increasingly more
(and more powerful) distractions, became bestsellers. The
renowned behavioral-design and time-management expert has
a way of helping us see familiar concepts in a new — and maybe
more importantly, easily actionable — light.

In his recent Medium post, “Knowing the Difference Between

‘Traction’ and ‘Distraction’ Will Change Your Life This Year,” for
example, he helps us look at the whole idea of distraction with
fresh eyes.

“Any action can be either a distraction or traction depending on

what you intend to do with your time,” he writes. “There’s
nothing wrong with scrolling through your Facebook feed,
watching YouTube videos, or playing a video game, as long as
that’s what you intend to do. Taking a break can be good for
you. It’s when you do things unintentionally that you get into
trouble.”

His point: The trick to being productive is to be purposeful, not

haphazard, with how you spend your time.

He follows that observation with characteristically useful advice

— for instance, how to keep a detailed calendar to help you
ensure that your actions are intentional.

That’s Nir’s go-to move: a perfect mix of the theoretical and the
practical. It doesn’t hurt that he lets us off the hook for playing
video games.

— 
Jon Gluck
, editorial director

The Lost Art of Letting Your Mind Wander — 

Erik Ruof

When I read this piece by Erik Ruof, I was immediately

transported to a past life where I helped run corporate
conferences. For one productivity conference, I was made to
send dozens of shower crayons (those kids drawing tools meant
to make bathing fun and to encourage writing on walls) to the
event. The speaker advocated for adults to keep them in the
shower so when those great ideas/shower thoughts hit you, you
could jot them down. Right there. In the middle of your shower.

As much as I hate when good ideas escape me, I think that the
presence of those crayons defeated the purpose: the taunting
shower crayons were a distraction, filling in the blank space my
mind needs in order to creatively roam. Ruof speaks to the
positive role of mindlessness with humor, and a quick dip into
depth, that made me exhale and feel a lot better about doing
nothing.

Like Ruof, without the chance for my mind to wander — to give

it space from the endless scroll of distracting blue light emitting
think pieces about Mare of Easttown’s hair — the subconscious
trickles of inspiration are unable to flow. Also, Ruof made me
really think hard about Koopalings and, to answer his mind-
wandering question that turned into my hour long distraction. I
think Bowser is part turtle/dragon/reptile so maybe one, er,
encounter could produce/hatch many, many children?

— 
Donna K.
, curation

How to Use Affirmations to Boost Your Productivity — 

James Ssekamatte

One of the challenges with productivity advice is that different

methods work for different people. If you’re aiming to be more
productive in some area of your life, you might ask productive
people what they do. They may recommend different apps,
timers, courses, or planners that worked to get them where they
are today. What’s interesting about James Ssekamatte’s method
is that it allows you to look inward and not just out.