You’re Not Lazy—You’re Just Surrounded by Distractions
Key Points
- Notification Frenzy: Turn off non-essential alerts and check messages only twice a day to keep pings from derailing your focus.
- Random Work Sessions: Use 50-minute focus sprints with 10-minute breaks so you stick to one task at a time.
- Cluttered Space: Spend five minutes at day’s end tidying up and jot down tomorrow’s top three tasks to start the morning clear and focused.
f you’re a freelancer, solopreneur, or blogger—and procrastination feels like your worst enemy—know this: your struggle isn’t a lack of discipline or motivation.
It’s the endless distractions pulling you off course.
From the ping of a new email to the clutter piled on your desk, these interruptions can strike anywhere—and even the most careful among us aren’t immune (yes, that includes the time you dropped your phone and spent an hour scrambling to fix it).
Distractions make it nearly impossible to manage your time, leaving you less productive and further from the life you really want.
Maybe you dream of launching a new project, growing your audience, or finally hitting those income goals—but every ding, buzz, or surprise emergency derails your focus.
While each of us faces different distractors, certain pitfalls—and knowing the right tools to make you more productive—keep popping up for almost everyone.
✅Awareness is half the battle: once you can spot these time-stealers, you can outsmart them.
Below are the three biggest distractions standing between you and your best self—so you can recognize them, work around them, and finally start making real progress toward the life and business you’ve been dreaming of.
Step 1: Education—How “The 12 Week Year” Transformed My Productivity
The other day, my favorite blogger Vanessa Oi Gwan Lau recommended a book that’s completely changed my life—The 12 Week Year by Brian P. Moran and Michael Lennington.
As a chronic procrastinator, I know how hard it is to actually get stuff done.
This book blew my mind by ditching the usual 12-month mindset and treating every “year” as just 12 weeks long.
It’s not just a productivity hack—it’s become one of my go-to ways to build new habits and level up my entire life.
The step-by-step system shows you how to set big goals, break them into weekly sprints, and track your progress every single day.
I’ve used it to double my output without burning out, and that clarity has spilled over into my health, relationships, and creativity.
If you’re ready to stop dreaming and start doing—without waiting a whole year—this book is a total game-changer.
I swear by it every quarter, and I can’t recommend it enough.
Meanwhile, let’s see what distractions are tripping you up:
Social Media
Social media is a major cause of distraction among many people. People are constantly checking Facebook, Twitter, Reddit, etc., to see if anyone got back to them.
They wonder what they missed on Snapchat and Instagram since the last time they checked their feeds (and they know that was only 10 minutes ago).
Nowadays, there are even more distractions from social media, such as live streaming from sites like Twitch and YouTube.
These sites tend to draw people’s attention for hours, which isn’t good when you’re trying to be productive.
When you find yourself going on your favorite social media website instead of doing what you need to do, try blocking it on your computer or phone for a certain amount of time.
This will prevent you from going on the site and wasting time.
You can allow yourself access during lunch or dinner if that works better for you.
Cell Phone Use
If social media is a major distraction, your cell phone is another big one.
Nowadays, cell phones are filled with great features that can be very useful and entertaining.
It can be hard to resist the temptation to look at your phone every few minutes when studying or working. You wonder if there is anything new since the last time you checked (which was only 3 seconds ago).
If you want to stop this, put your phone on silent or turn it off when you are trying to work.
You can also use apps that block social media sites so that there is nothing for you to visit when you check your phone.
Eating
It can be hard to resist eating and doing your work at the same time.
However, if you have a full stomach, you will feel sluggish and tired. This interrupts your work and makes it difficult for you to focus and remember the things you were working on.
Eating does not have to be a major distraction. It is only if you constantly eat while trying to do work that it becomes one.
To stop yourself from doing this, set aside some time for eating and make sure you are actually hungry before you start eating
. Make sure that you also recognize when your stomach is full so that you can take a break from eating and get back to work.
Sometimes it can be hard to resist eating at home if there is food right in front of you. This is why it’s best to ensure you keep all food in cabinets and out of eyesight.
Alcohol and Drugs
Alcohol and drugs can seem like a great way to relax when you’re feeling stressed out.
However, when you drink alcohol or take drugs, your head gets cloudy, and it becomes harder to focus on what is going on around you.
You can’t think clearly, and for this reason, it becomes more difficult to perform well in class or do your work.
This is a major distraction because you lose motivation to keep going on with what you were doing before when you get drunk or take drugs.
To lessen this distraction, you can drink a lot of water so that your head stays clear and feel better.
Alternatively, you could avoid taking drugs or drinking alcohol when you need to stay focused. Staying sober is an easy solution to stay productive.
Other People
It can be hard to ignore other people when they need your attention when you are trying to do work.
You may even find yourself getting distracted by socializing when someone comes up and tries to start a conversation with you.
You might think that it is fine to talk for 5 minutes, but in reality, this adds up and becomes a major source of distraction.
You might also find yourself trying to do two things at once, like studying and talking with the distracting person.
It can be difficult to ignore other people when they talk to you, especially if it is someone close to you, like a friend or family member.
To avoid this problem, try finding a quiet place to do your work. This could be a library, your room, or even outside by yourself.
With so many distractions around us, it’s easy to lose focus on what’s important.
However, there are ways to beat these distractions so you can be your most productive.
By applying the solutions mentioned in this post to your daily life, you will find staying focused on important tasks much easier.
