Managing Distractions

I have found it very easy to take advantage of the vast opportunities afforded by the internet and networked devices; I have found it much more difficult to manage their downsides. Despite knowing that humans are terrible multitaskers — a 2025 systematic review found that digital distractions significantly harm academic performance, and research has shown that laptop multitasking lowers test scores by 11%, even for nearby peers — it is all too easy for me to get distracted by notifications (even work-related ones) when I’m trying to concentrate. Here are a few apps and tricks that I’ve come across in my efforts to manage the flood of information that has come to characterize our day-to-day lives.

Tips and Tricks

Turn on a Focus Mode

  • Most operating systems have a way to create a custom mode where notifications are silenced and access to some apps are limited. Think about your most common distractions and make sure those notifications are suppressed doing important times. Here are links to support articles for different operating systems:

Lock yourself into an app

  • Guided Access (iPad and iPhone only): Guided Access is a feature that will ‘lock’ you into a specific app and prevent you from seeing notifications, until you disable the feature with a passcode. This can be very useful in classes; by locking yourself into your note-taking app, you add an extra barrier to indulging in distractions. Here is an article explaining how to set up Guided Access on your device.

Apps:

  • The following apps and plugins will disable your internet connection, or your access to a certain list of websites, for a specified period of time.