Consuming excessive content about anxiety and constantly focusing on eliminating distractions can lead to prevalence anxiety where individuals hyper focus on their own anxiety and overemphasize the need to control distractions. This hyperawareness can lead to a self-fulfilling negative spiral, as individuals start perceiving low levels of anxiety as a disorder. Similarly, for focus privilege, constantly striving for perfect control over life and over-defining distractions can set unrealistic expectations. Instead, it's beneficial to schedule the inevitability of disruptions and accept that life cannot be entirely controlled to avoid catastrophizing context switching.
The 'New York Times' bestselling author and contrarian self-help writer Oliver Burkeman joins the show to talk about his new audio essay series on work, focus, and interruptions—and how, too often, our emphasis on eliminating distractions ironically takes us away from the most important things in life.
If you have questions, observations, or ideas for future episodes, email us at PlainEnglish@Spotify.com.
Host: Derek Thompson
Guest: Oliver Burkeman
Producer: Devon Baroldi
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