Distractions are…distracting.

My best lessons in handling distractions don’t come from the practice of law. Instead, they come from the practice of raising children.

Children are distracting. You already know that. Whether it’s kids kicking your seat back on the plane or your children calling “Mommy, Mommy, Mommy” over and over 10,000 times, they make it difficult to concentrate.

After years of dealing with our kids, I’ve become a master of tuning people and things out.

A building collapses outside the window.

“Wow!” my wife exclaims. “Did you see that?” she asks.

“See what?” I respond.

There are times when I’m really, really focused—like a laser beam.

It would be nice if I could apply that focus to actually getting things done. Unfortunately, most of my focus is used up on things like watching stupid cat videos on YouTube. I can lock in on a cat video to the total and complete exclusion of anything and everything happening around me.

An Effective Way to Improve Your Focus

It’s sad to watch the places my brain spends time. I’m focused; I’m just not productive.

However, it’s important to focus on work. Being good at making money comes in handy (someone has to pay for the YouTube connection, right?).

That’s where the Pomodoro technique comes in. You’ve got the Pomodoro technique to thank for this article and for many of the posts here on Divorce Discourse.

Fundamentally, the technique is about setting a 25-minute timer and staying on task until the end of the 25 minutes (I’m about six minutes in on this article). When the time runs out, you take a short break (three to five) minutes. Then you start again and repeat four times before a much longer break.

The technique is about training yourself to stay focused for 25 minutes without distraction. Instead of looking at Facebook and Twitter, I’m staying right here in my text editor. I’m writing, writing, and writing instead of browsing, tweeting, and shopping online.

I’m sure some followers of this approach actually use the technique for 25 minutes and then repeat over and over all day. That’s not me.

I’m lucky to make it through one 25-minute session before I succumb to the shiny objects surrounding me. That 25 minutes, however, is remarkably productive. Realistically, for me, 25 minutes is more focused time than I got before attempting this approach. I’m sometimes amazed at what I can get done in 25 minutes if I’ll just stay on task.

The app I use on my Mac is Pomodoro Timer. It works for me. Some Windows users like Focus Booster. There are a multitude of free and paid Pomodoro apps for every platform, including mobile devices.

For me, the Pomodoro technique has helped me build my focus muscle. It allows me to apply my ability to ignore distractions while focusing on being more productive. I like it, and you likely wouldn’t have had the chance to read these words without it.