Why Digital Distractions are Harming Your Creativity
It’s difficult to imagine a life without technology.
We are constantly bombarded with information in our tech-centric world. There is always something new to catch up on, learn or share with those close to us.
As much as we’d like to think this doesn’t affect our mental health and daily habits, modern-day distractions are keeping us in overdrive.
When your focus is scattered amongst many things, each task is getting only a fraction of your attention. Constantly switching from task to task and spreading yourself too thin only damage your ability to focus.
If your mind is always busy, you’re not accessing your subconscious and imagination, which are necessary for creativity.
If you’re like most people, you’ve already replied to emails, checked messages and scrolled through your Instagram feed even before your morning cup of coffee.
This used to be me too, until I learnt to take better control of my use of technology.
Over time, I’ve realised that though technology helps us in many ways, it can be a huge source of distractions if we don’t use it right.
Imagine sitting down to create a drawing only to be interrupted by a notification alert after every few strokes.
While this may seem okay on the surface, both tasks use up your focus and mind space, eventually leaving you feeling overwhelmed and fatigued.
These distractions fragment our attention, disrupt our thinking and sap our limited energy throughout our finite day.
This leaves little room for us to fully immerse ourselves in our creative process, which is needed to bring out our best.
Every distraction requires mental energy. Every text, tweet or email drains that battery, leaving you with lesser and lesser capacity for creative thinking.
Context switching or shifting your focus from one thing to another doesn’t allow you to fully engage in a task, making it longer to complete, causing oversights, tiring your mind and damaging your ability for prolonged focus even in the long term.
If you’re focusing on something every minute of every day, you’re not letting your brain rest or recharge. Hitting the reset button and clearing your mental space is crucial to letting your imagination flow, exploring ideas and being creative overall.
It’s not just about recharging your brain. It’s also becoming comfortable with boredom. Sitting still and letting your mind wander allows you to discover new ideas, build upon old ones and gain new perspectives. This motivation to engage with something differently is a source of creativity that only comes with boredom.
So, how do we create a mental space free of digital distractions where our art can thrive?
It's easy to get sucked into the comments, likes, shares and views. But these things don't help your art grow. They are important, but we need to be mindful of our use and dependence on technology.
Let me share what worked for me.
Schedule digital device time
I took a hard stance and removed social media from my phone by uninstalling it. I also use apps to block distractions on my desktop. For example, I use an app called Leach Block as I have a particular weakness for YouTube videos.
I only use social media sparingly on weekends.
You can also set time limits on your apps and track how much time you’re spending on them.
While it can be hard to drag yourself away from digital screens, it will bring more peace to your day.
Make downtime a priority
Do you find yourself reaching for your phone when you’re bored? Next time, try doing nothing for a while. When we move from task to task without consciously choosing, our brains are on autopilot mode.
Let your mind wander for a change.
Find ways to stay present and disconnect from your device. For example, try eating your dinner without your phone.
Get curious about what’s around you. Challenge yourself not to check your phone during this time.
Start small. We don’t have to fill every empty moment with catching up with the world.
The more you move away from this thinking, the easier it will become to relax and be in the moment.
Keep your phone away
I tuck my phone away into a drawer before I start working on a new digital illustration or drawing idea.
If I don’t see it, I know I won’t pick it up on autopilot. This is a life choice because I know I can get easily sucked in.
I want my mind to be clear, and not just when I am illustrating.
It’s become such a big part of us that, most times, we don’t even know when we’ve picked up our phones.
It used to happen to me a lot, too, but I am getting better with practice.
Draw on paper
When was the last time you grabbed a piece of paper and drew without a screen? Yes, technology gives you loads of inspiration to use as references, allows you to create mood boards or research new topics, but pen and paper gives you something technology doesn’t – the ability to have no distractions effortlessly to do deep work.
I go old school and print out my references and turn off my devices. We don’t need Pinterest or Instagram to fuel us.
This is necessary to cultivate the pastures of our imagination.
Say yes… but not to everything
There’s always so much to do in our modern life. Our personal and professional commitments are sometimes endless. We don’t want to disappoint our friend by cancelling that coffee date or we try to stand out at work by taking on more tasks than we can handle.
As much as we want to say yes to everything, we can’t do it all.
The more things you say yes to, the less time and energy you will have to focus on what matters.
Choose what’s important and ditch the rest.
Use technology as a tool
As much as technology plays a part in how distracted we are, we can use it to our advantage. Many digital marketing art tools make it easier for artists who share their work online or those running art businesses.
Use these tools to automate as much as possible to free up your time.
It’s easy to get addicted to the likes, follows and shares. But it’s far less disruptive to set aside time once a week to learn how your posts are performing.
We sometimes delude ourselves into thinking these metrics matter. The harsh reality is they don’t grow your art. Only consistent work will get you there.
Of course, your metrics matter, but I recommend a distanced approach where we focus on our efforts over time, rather than how a single post, video or reel is performing.
These concentration exercises have helped me improve my focus and keep me from getting distracted while I sketch.
If you struggle, know it's okay and you can build focus and concentration like a muscle. The more you cut distractions out of your life, the easier it will be to focus and create the work you dream of.
What helps you? I’d love to know what you think about this topic.
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