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[Maximize Your Productivity As A Software Engineer course] Question about Distraction?

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Mid-Level Software Engineer at Taro Community2 months ago

In the course, Alex talked about dealing with mobile distractions and how simply keeping your phone away while working can make a big difference. This tip has been super helpful for me over the past couple of months—thanks, Alex!

But now, I’ve noticed I’m getting distracted by my laptop instead. I’ll randomly open YouTube or check the news in the middle of work, and before I know it, time just flies by. I work from home, so it’s easy to lose track.

Does anyone have tips or tricks to stay focused and avoid distractions on the laptop? Would love to hear what works for you!

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Discussion

(2 comments)
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    Tech Lead/Manager at Meta, Pinterest, Kosei
    2 months ago

    I have a news feed eradicator Chrome extension. You can activate this on the most common distracting surfaces that are feed-based: Instagram, YouTube, Twitter.

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    Tech Lead @ Robinhood, Meta, Course Hero
    2 months ago

    It's much harder to prevent distractions on your computer itself 😅. I don't think there's a good focus mode/digital health plugin for web browsers.

    Something you can do is if you are going on a small YouTube break (I think breaks are good) is to set an alarm (10, 20, 30 minutes) that has a title of "STOP WASTING TIME ON YOUTUBE" in all caps something. As mentioned in the course, you always want to create artifacts and concretely modify your system when you can (instead of relying on pure willpower).

    Honestly, I think the main way to fix this is to go into the office (if you can) and leverage the power of peer pressure to not waste time on YouTube during work hours.

    Glad you liked the course!