How To Keep Those Ultra-Distracting Texts From Stealing Your Attention

During a mindbodygreen podcast episode with entrepreneur Thatcher Wine, mbg founder and co-CEO Jason Wachob called text messages "the worst" for distractions—and we concur. But Wine has a couple of ideas for how to deal with them.

Just because you've decided to fully engage in one task at a time (what Wine likes to call "monotasking") doesn't mean everyone else is going to stop texting you, he says. So, in that instance, you can choose one of two options. 

The key to either scenario is that you're avoiding multitasking, which neurologists say can actually affect cognitive function—and will most likely feel overwhelming. Odds are, if the message is an emergency, a phone call will follow. If it's not, Wine says a good friend should respect your delayed response, be patient with you, and value the fact that you're choosing to give them your full attention later on. 

If that's the case and the texts keep coming through, decide whether you're going to monotask the conversation or schedule it for another time.