Plan your day

My default state is distraction. What that means is that if I'm doing something, I can suddenly jump to something unrelated and not return at all.  From the time I've reflected upon myself, I found that I'm easily distracted.

I've been trying to understand how best to live with this state and how to be productive in spite of this. Cal Newport's books - Deep Work and Digital Minimalism helped with ways to work with that.

The first important step that defines my day is whether I have taken the time to plan my day out. Take a day where I start my day without planning when I'll do what. I'll find myself starting with my first task and it taking most of the day if not the whole day.
The only solution that worked to avoid this is to take the time to plan the day. In the morning,  sit in front of you calendar and plan all the things you want to do that day in the calendar.  This step will create an intentional day. It will make it easy to resist the distractions and plough ahead. It also is the rock to which we can return to if we have wandered somewhere unrelated. This sounds simple but simple things make all the difference. Pair it with the following deep work rules to have a focused day -  Don't use the internet for entertainment and use internet during a specified time.

Breaking the addiction with the mind

What is addiction with the mind. Whenever a thought comes in the mind, we run away with the thought. we are addicted to each thought that the mind brings forth. Without knowing we are flying like a kite in the wind or a flotsam on the sea. This is addiction with the mind.

What if you're doing something important and you have to focus? Is there a way to break this addiction to the mind? There is a way to focus here. You can always build a refuge for focus in your breath.

Whenever you want to focus, start by sitting comfortably and breathing in and out and counting 1. Do this till 8 and then back to 1. In between if you notice that the mind has wandered bring the attention back to breathing and start from 1. By the time you're done you will have gathered your attention and then you can start focusing.

In between thoughts come, you can always tell your mind, not now and keep focusing on the breath. You will see that cravings will rise and fall, thoughts will come and go, but just keep focusing on the breath. This way you can always come back to your breath for focus whenever you feel distracted.

One thing to remember here is that you cannot always ignore the thoughts, but you can temporarily say, not now and continue with what you're doing. Later when you're free and have some spare time, you can ride the urgent thought waves you have been putting away for later and be mindful of what they're trying to tell. That way during the times of focus, they will not make their presence felt urgently.

This might seem like something difficult or unrealistic but it is very true. To create a habit with these, you can always use the habit formation rules of make it obvious, make it attractive, make it easy and make it rewarding. Also remember any habit change is a change of identity. So give enough votes to this new identity of meditator, so that the identity is solidified.