Do you...do you ever find yourself trying to concentrate, and yet you can't seem to focus?

你是否也發現自己有專注力不足的問題？

Why are we so distracted these days?

為什麼我們越來越容易分心呢？

And is technology the root cause of the problem, or is there something deeper going on?

難道罪魁禍首是科技，還是有其他原因呢？

My name is Nir Eyal, and I've spent the last five years researching and writing about the deeper psychology of distraction.

我是 Nir Eyal，我花了五年的時間研究和專注力不足有關的心理學。

When I found myself struggling with distraction, I decided to do what many people advise and got rid of the distracting technology.

當我發現自己也有專注力不足的問題時，我採納了他人的意見，選擇遠離科技。

I got myself a flip-phone without any apps.

我使用未安裝任何應用程式的掀蓋式手機。

All it did was phone calls and text messages.

它的功能只有打電話和傳簡訊。

Then I got a word processor from the 1990s without any sort of internet connection.

另外，我也改用 1990 年代的文書處理機，它並沒有網路連線的功能。

Unfortunately, I found I still got distracted.

但是，我發現我還是很容易分心。

I'd start reading a book from my bookshelf.

我時不時就會從書架上找本書來看。

I'd tidy up my desk.

我會整理書桌。

I'd take out the trash even, just to avoid the thing that I didn't want to do.

我甚至還會去倒垃圾，就是為了逃避我不想做的事。

I had only focused on the external triggers, the pings and dings that were leading me towards distraction.

我一直都把專注力不足的問題歸咎於外在因素，認為是那些叮咚的通知聲害我無法專心。

What I hadn't focused on, and what turns out to be a much more common source of distraction, are the internal triggers—the uncomfortable emotional states that we seek to escape.

但我沒有注意，分心的主要原因其實是內在因素，我們想要逃離任何不舒服的感受。

When we're lonely, we check Facebook.

我們覺得寂寞的時後，我們會滑臉書。

When we're uncertain, we Google.

我們不太確定某個問題時，我們會上谷歌。

When we're bored, we check the news, stocks prices, sports scores, anything to not feel these uncomfortable sensations that we're not ready to experience.

我們覺得無聊時，我們會看看新聞、股價、運動比分等任何能夠使你暫時逃離還不想體驗的不悅感。

Here are a few techniques I discovered in my research that could help us stay on track.

以下是我在研究裡發現能夠有效集中注意力的技巧。

1. Plan your day (but not with a to-do list).

1. 計畫一天的行程 (但不是列出待辦清單）。

First, what you want to do is to make sure you plan your day.

第一，計畫你一天的行程。

Two-thirds of people don't keep any sort of calendar, any kind of schedule in their day.

三分之二的人不曾使用行事曆規劃時間。

Well, the fact of the matter is if you don't plan your day, somebody is going to plan it for you.

但是，如果你自己不事先規劃好，那麼就會變成是別人來幫你規劃。

Many of us believe in this myth of the to-do list.

許多人對待辦事項清單仍抱有不切實際的幻想。

I used to think that just by writing things down, they'd get done.

我以前也覺得只要把事情寫下來，這些事情就會完成。

But of course I'd go from day to day to day recycling the bottom half of my to-do list because I wasn't making time to do those tasks.

但想當然每天待辦事項清單上有一半的事項會被我「回收再利用」，因為我根本沒有安排時間去執行那些任務。

So the best place to start is not with the output of what you want to get done every day, but with the input of how much time you have to devote to every task.

所以最好把重點放在你投入每項工作的時間，而非你每日預計的產出。

2. Use social media and email at set times.

第二，在固定的時間使用社交媒體和電子郵件。

So distraction has many consequences.

分心會導致許多問題。

One of them is that we find that when someone is interrupted during a task, it can take up to 20 minutes for them to refocus on what they were doing.

例如，當你受到干擾而分心時，可能需要二十分鐘才能重新專注於原本做的事情上。

Many times we don't even realize how much worse our output is when we...

很多時候我們都沒有注意到我們的產出變得越來越糟，當我們......

So check email in one solid block.

所以，在固定的時段收發電子郵件。

If you enjoy using social media, that's great.

如果你很喜歡用社交媒體，那也沒關係。

But make time for it in your day, so it's not something you're only using every time you feel bored or lonely.

重點是你必須安排一個固定的時間，你才不會只在感到無聊寂寞時使用它們。

3. Surf the urge.

第三，駕馭衝動。

Researchers have found that surfing the urge is an effective way to master our internal triggers.

研究人員發駕馭衝動能有效地幫助你掌管使你分心的內在因素。

In a smoking cessation study, researchers found that when they taught smokers how to notice the sensation and be mindful of what they were experiencing, they became much more likely to stop smoking.

在一項戒菸的研究中，研究者發現當他們教抽菸者如何感受情緒與當下的感受，他們戒菸的成功率越高。

By surfing the urge and noticing what it is that we're experiencing and allowing that sensation to crest and then subside, kind of like how a surfer might surf a wave, we allow that emotion, that uncomfortable internal trigger to crest and then pass.

透過駕馭衝動與了解當下的感受，並讓感受達到顛峰後消退，這有點像衝浪，讓不舒服的感受達到顛峰後消失。

4. Beware of "liminal" moments.

第三，留意「閾限」時間。

The next thing that we want to do is be careful of liminal moments.

下一步就是我們得特別留意「閾限時間」。

Liminal moments are these periods of time when we are transitioning from one task to the other.

所謂的「閾限時間」指的是當你從某個任務轉換至另一個任務的過渡時間。

So for example, if you start checking your email on the way back from a meeting, and you're finally at your desk and you keep checking your email instead of getting to the task at hand.

舉例來說，你開完會後邊走邊用手機看電子信箱，等你回到自己位置上，你還是繼續看手機而不是開始下一個任務。

Well, now that liminal moment has turned into a distraction.

而這個「閾限時間」就成為了分心的源頭。

So be careful of those times when you're transitioning from one task to the next.

因此，當你從某任務轉換至另一個任務時，要特別當心。

5. Remember you're not powerless.

第五，記得自己並非無能為力。

A study of alcoholics found that the number one determinant of whether someone would stay sober after a rehabilitation programme was not their level of physical dependency.

一項關於酗酒者的研究發現，經過康復治療後，決定他們是否成功戒酒的並不是身體依賴性。

It wasn't what was happening in their body.

重點並不在體內的反應。

In fact, it was what was happening in their minds.

事實上是在於他們的內心。

The people who were most likely to stay sober were those who believed they had the power to stop.

那些成功戒酒的人，往往都深信自己有能力喊停。

So when we think that technology is hijacking our brains or it's addicting everyone, we are making it more likely that we won't be able to put technology distractions in their place.

所以當我們都認為科技綁架我們的生活，而且使人上癮時，我們就更沒辦法處理分心的問題。

So don't believe this lie that there's nothing we can do.

所以，請不要相信我們無能為力。

Clearly there's so much we can do to help make sure that we get the best out of these products without letting them get the best of us.

有很多方法都可以幫助我們提高做事效率，不讓其他事物來使我們分心。

Thanks for watching!

感謝收看！

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別忘記訂閱並按下小鈴鐺，才能獲得新影片的通知。

See you again soon!

我們下次再見！