“To do anything well, get rid of distraction. It’s not your ability to execute that is in question; it’s your ability to shut things out. Reduce variables to remove distraction.”
–Uwe Kruger
My mentor Uwe Kruger once told me to “get rid of distraction.” More powerful words have never been spoken, and let’s start with the number one offender in 21st century distraction – technology.
This is the age of what I call the time/technology paradox. We need our electronic companions – but we also need purposeful relief from their presence. Most people I know never turn off their smart phone; from the day they buy it to the day they upgrade. I have coached people that complain of lack of sleep while admitting they were responding to work emails at 2:30 a.m. the previous night. Others feel like they consider it their job to “drink the waterfall,” with no excuse NOT to drink the waterfall and no breaks allowed. Most of them receive over 200 emails every day, and guess what? Most people you meet can’t pay attention for more than about eighteen seconds. In fact, there is only a 50-50 chance in any conversation that either party is listening at any given moment. Too many variables, too many distractions.
This time/technology paradox has hurt us. Bad. Today’s average American college student in fact cares less about others than the same student of less than twenty years ago. It is fact. Empathy today is way down, and narcissism is way up. If we can’t care for others, how can we ever expect to care for our work? Remove the myriad distractions to your process.
Get rid of distractions. Reduce variables to remove distraction. Get rid of distractions. Setting up technology-free zones and times is a good start; I’ve seen it work for my clients. Any effort to reduce variables pays dividends as well; I know this because I’ve used the technique for myself. One example is I have a “uniform” that I wear when I speak professionally. I have several sets of the same pants and shirts that I take wherever I travel. Marshall Goldsmith showed me this by example decades ago, and it still reduces variables and therefore distractions for me decades later. I never have to think about wardrobe, or about packing. Avoid what is now known as “decision fatigue”. Reduce variables.
There is no end to the distractions competing for your attention today, so go set some boundaries now. Take a look at your life. Find out where and how you can turn off the noise. Look to reduce process variables in every part of your life; your health, your work, your family. The possibilities are endless, the rewards unlimited.
Let’s do something different:
- Ask someone who matters to you – precisely when do they believe you seem most distracted?
- Remove the variable – if it’s the TV after dinner at home, keep it off. If it’s the smart phone you can’t put down during meetings at work, leave it in your office. Reduce variables to remove distraction – it will set you free.
-Don Brown
don@donbrown.org
Don Brown dedicates his career to ‘helping people with people’ in leadership, sales and customer service. Bilingual and experienced at the executive and line-level alike, you see the results of his work across dozens of industries, including brewing, automotive, airline, banking and medical equipment.
Speaking, writing, coaching and selling to the best – Ford Motor Company, Anheuser-Busch, United Airlines, Harley-Davidson, Jaguar Cars, Hilton Hotels and many, many more – Don takes great pride in long-standing customer relationships (some running well over twenty years).
