How to stop going down rabbit holes and get more done.

Picture this. You have work or other things to be done, but you tell yourself you’ll just check your phone quickly. You go into your email, or your social media, or a game, or just do a “quick scroll” on the internet, and the next thing you know, it’s happened—you’ve fallen down the rabbit hole. You know the one—where you can get lost for endless minutes and hours chasing after things that you had never intended to spend so much time on. And then you wonder where your day has gone. The momentary satisfaction turns into longer-term disappointment or even anxiety as unfinished things that need your attention begin to pile up.

Here are five strategies for becoming more productive:

Want to avoid falling down the rabbit hole? Here are some steps you can take.

1. Become aware of the rabbit hole.

We need to see that it is there in the first place in order to avoid it or step around it. This sounds quite obvious, but in fact, the rabbit hole is far sneakier than it might first appear. Awareness is both a natural capacity and also something that we must cultivate because it is so easy for our minds to go on automatic pilot and not truly pay attention. Additionally, we can become easily distracted by the next shiny object and lose ourselves in chasing shiny objects, not realizing we are doing so. Further, it is easy to underestimate how much time we actually spend on things (like being stuck in rabbit holes).

Becoming aware means starting to notice what pulls you off course and how much time you actually spend there. It means noticing your patterns and habits and tracking them to gather data. It means being willing to pay attention purposefully (without judgment) so you can clearly see what is happening and honestly assess how it is impacting you.

For me, I notice that once I decide to “just check my email for a sec,” I can be lost for endless amounts of time that I didn’t plan on at that moment. This awareness itself is quite useful because it allows me to move on to step two and make a plan of action to address this (see below).

2. Be Intentional about how you want to spend your time.

Again, this may sound obvious, but it is an often-overlooked step. Don’t leave things to chance or mood or good wishes. Being intentional means pairing an intention with an action plan (Intention + Action Plan = Intentional Actions).

When I am not intentional, I can easily get lost spending time on things that I really didn’t intend to or that I thought would only “take a few minutes.” Once I am aware of the rabbit holes I fall into (step one), I can make a specific plan. Knowing that once I open up my emails, I tend to get lost there, I can choose to open my emails at designated periods of the day that I set aside in advance for checking and responding to emails. When I am being intentional, I don’t open my email before I sit down to work on a creative project because I know how that tends to go. Or I very clearly decide in advance that I will spend five minutes only responding to things that are urgent, not clicking on anything that is non-urgent, and coming back to the rest later.

Here are a few suggestions for being intentional:

• At the very beginning of the day (or the night before), write out your top three priorities for the day of what you want to accomplish. Put things on here that, if they didn’t happen, you would be disappointed, and that if they did get completed, they would bring a great deal of satisfaction. Be realistic about what is doable, and if you have a longer project you are working on, break it down into smaller pieces so that you can work on just one piece at a time. Know that you likely won’t get to everything on your to-do list, so make sure to prioritize before you start your day.
• Have designated periods of time for checking emails, getting on social media, watching YouTube videos, internet scrolling, game playing, or other things that pull you down your rabbit hole. Insert these into specific points in your day rather than having them constantly running in the background, pulling you away throughout the day at random and unplanned times.
• Set a timer so you are truly aware of how much time you are spending on things like social media, games, etc. Be clear at the outset about how much time you would actually like to spend on these and be willing to have a hard stop. As an extra bonus, make these periods of time “rewards” for completing other things that need to get done first.

3. Be guided by the firm hand of self-compassion.

Often, we operate from our mindless self (the one on autopilot which isn’t paying attention and gets lost in distraction) or from our inner critic (the one with the harsh voice who talks to us in ways we would never talk to others). Meditation teacher Susan Morgan has used the phrase “the firm hand of self-compassion” in her teachings, and I find this helpful to remember, especially when trying to pay attention to and change unhelpful habits. Sometimes we need to be that firm but caring parent/mentor/coach for ourselves, nudging us toward the choices that we know will best serve our long-term well-being and away from the things we know will not.

4. Seek natural rewards.

Sometimes the best reinforcement and motivation is noticing the benefits of our own positive behaviors and choices. Using the steps above, begin to pay attention to what works for you. When you can notice rabbit holes and avoid them, how does that feel? When you can be intentional and create a small priority list at the beginning of the day as a roadmap for yourself, how does that work for you? When you put your important to-do’s first and schedule the other stuff after, what is your level of satisfaction? What is your stress level like? Savor any positive emotions that arise from helpful choices and actions.

5. Mentally rehearse.

Do this at the very beginning of the day (even before you get out of bed if you want). Decide in advance what your intentional action plan is for the day, and picture yourself going through the day implementing it. See yourself noticing rabbit holes instead of falling in them, prioritizing what is most important to you, and following through, not leaving things to chance, but instead, leaving things to choice. Feel the satisfaction you will feel in doing this as if it already happened. Now go forward into your day, knowing you have set yourself up to bring greater awareness and intention with you.

Of course, sometimes it’s fun to enjoy the rabbit hole—it can be entertaining down there! But if you’re looking to be more productive, try these five strategies and see for yourself what works for you.

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This article was originally published on Psychology Today.