The Benefits of Distractions

Some distractions can have a positive effect on our thoughts processes, such as a short conversation at work. (Fei Meng)

It was not the best of mornings.

I was slated to write an article on avoiding distractions, yet I was having trouble settling into the job. Instead, I wiped down the kitchen counters, surfed online, and tidied up my work table.

The irony wasn’t lost on me: I was distracting myself from putting together a piece about distraction.

Then my son J.P. called and asked if he could swing by the house to say hello. “Here comes another distraction,” I thought after we’d hung up.

During our 45 minutes together, J.P. talked about his kids, told a funny story about trying to hunt down a mouse in his home office—no luck so far—and talked excitedly about his latest read, Alfred Lansing’s “Endurance.”

By the time he left, my mood and pace had completely shifted. I pulled out that chair, opened my laptop, and began investigating and writing about distractions—not their downside, but their upside.

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First, I searched online for “how to avoid distractions” and found the expected advice. Most of these lists suggest making a to-do list, staying off the phone, using music to block unwanted noise, and finding a comfortable place to work.

Next, I did a 180 and searched for “the good side of distractions.”

In “Distractions Can Be Healthy if Used in a Positive Way,” Leslie Catherine writes that “distractions can provide an escape and a much-needed break from our routines, our work, our stress, and our anxiety.” Bingo, I thought, and read on to find that music, reading, puzzles, and video games, if we control the time we spend on them, can refresh us when we’re bogged down on a project. As it turns out, so can a brief visit with my son.

Stephanie Vozza’s “3 Reasons You Should Let Yourself Get Distracted” examines the ideas of Harvard researcher Shelley Carson, author of “Your Creative Brain.” Distractions, Carson contends, can foster creativity, bring about solutions to problems, and even improve our mood. Bingo again!

Author of “Tinker, Dabble, Doodle, Try: Unlock the Power of the Unfocused Mind,” Dr. Srini Pillay in “The Unlikely Benefits of Distraction” notes that “headphones, to-do lists, and calendar reminders will help us get the job done,” but then spends the rest of his article demonstrating why shutting ourselves off too completely from our surroundings can inhibit creativity and thinking. Using research studies as well as examples from the business world, he demonstrates that doodling, daydreaming, napping, and other breaks can enhance our thought processes.

Of these activities, Dr. Pillay writes, “This may seem like you are wasting time, but you should think of it as refueling your brain.” He even recommends scheduling slots for such interruptions on our daily calendars.

So it turns out that distractions have both positive and negative effects. The negative instruments of distraction nowadays are mostly electronic: texts, emails, social media, phone calls. If we’re looking at our phones every quarter hour, or constantly going online to check out the latest cultural or political hoopla, that’s likely a habit we should break. Most of the time, we’re unnecessarily distracting ourselves, whether it’s from a project at work or enjoying our children on a playground.

On the other hand, as I learned from my son’s visit and from the articles I read, particularly Dr. Pillay’s piece, some time away from a task at hand can refresh our minds and spirits. Whether planned or unexpected, certain distractions can lift us out of a funk and fire up our imagination: a lively conversation, a 20-minute walk, a short nap.

Speaking of that last item, the Lazy-Boy in my den is calling my name. Time, apparently, for another distraction.

Views expressed in this article are opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.