Reducing Digital Distractions

Your phone is a threat to your brain. At least, your brain sees it that way. With all the notifications and constant pinging/tagging/DM’ing/emailing, your brain treats these technological interruptions as threats. Every notification, every loading screen, every "spinning wheel of death" on a webpage triggers your brain’s fight-or-flight response. With the average office worker checking their email up to every 6 minutes, that's 𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝟭𝟬𝟬 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗲𝘀 𝗽𝗲𝗿 𝗱𝗮𝘆. And that’s just with your phone. Take in the commute, office politics, and other potential areas of stress, it’s no wonder you can’t seem to relax! The solution is a bit of tough-love, but I need to share it with you: create "notification-free zones." • Turn off all non-essential notifications after working hours • Use "focus mode" during deep work to keep notifications to a bare minimum • Check messages at designated times only • Have a “burner phone” that you use at home and on the weekend which does not have additional apps on it. 𝗢𝗻𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗺𝘆 𝗳𝗮𝘃𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗲 𝗿𝘂𝗹𝗲𝘀 𝗶𝘀: No notifications for the first hour after waking. Your brain deserves a calm start. (Even just start with 30-minutes if an hour is too much to consider at first.) Your attention is your most valuable asset. How are you protecting it? #DigitalWellness #Neuroscience #Productivity #Attention

Please stop pinging me on Teams… Then following up on WhatsApp… To check if I saw your email… From twenty minutes ago. 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐮𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐲 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬𝐧’𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐦𝐲 𝐮𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐲. We’re not in a crisis, we’re caught in a 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐮𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐲. We’ve normalised hyper-responsiveness. We’re building work cultures on constant digital disruption. And it’s costing us: clarity, performance, and wellbeing. This is the urgency fallacy in action: the illusion that everything is both urgent and important. Why? We have Palaeolithic brains trying to navigate modern tech. Brains designed to hunt and forage at a natural cadence are now (constantly) bombarded by unsolicited alerts, red notification bubbles and digital noise that hijacks our attention. 🔴 Red = danger. Your brain doesn’t know it’s just another Teams ping. It reads it as a threat. It triggers the same stress response as if a tiger were chasing you. (Let’s be honest, some days…our Teams’ notifications feel like a tiger chasing us.) Here’s the truth: 🧠 Our Human Operating System (hOS) hasn’t evolved at the speed of our digital tools. We’re not wired to be always-on, nor are we designed to be distracted all day long. Every interruption drains cognitive energy (depletes our glucose), increases cortisol and fragments our focus. Boundaries aren’t resistance. They’re self-leadership. Let’s stop mistaking responsivity for value. Let’s stop confusing speed with impact. Your best work won’t come from urgency. It will come from clarity. Want to future-proof your team’s performance? Articulate your 𝐝𝐢𝐠𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐠𝐮𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐬 which are your team’s agreed digital norms, practices and principles that underpin hybrid work. Have clear “𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐡-𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬” about responsiveness and establish a communication escalation plan so when there are legitimate, urgent issues, there’s a clearly delineated and understood path for escalating them, if the situation arises (hint, in most instances if something is really urgent a good old-fashioned phone call is often best.) I teach this inside my keynotes, performance workshops and with my Executive Coaching. Ready to shift your culture? #Leadership #WorkplacePerformance #DigitalWellbeing #HumanOperatingSystem #NeuroLeadership #SpaciousSuccess

Your brain isn’t built for 100 browser tabs and 57 unread notifications. But we’re living like it is. Every ping, every pop-up, every scroll - it hijacks your focus. It doesn’t seem like a big deal at first… But over time? - You can’t finish a task without checking your phone. - You forget what you were doing mid-way. - You start 10 things, and finish none. - You feel restless, even during breaks. This isn’t just a distraction. It’s brain rewiring. Scientists call it “attention residue” - your brain holds onto whatever it was just doing. So even after you switch tabs, part of your mind stays behind. The result? - Slower thinking - More mistakes - Constant fatigue What can you do about it? Try this: Start your day with a Focus Warm-Up - 30 minutes of no input: no phone, no inbox, no Slack - Just one task, one tab, one note Create a “No Notification Zone” - Silent mode during key work hours - Nothing breaks your flow unless it’s urgent Reclaim real rest - Not Netflix + phone scrolling - Try silence, a walk, or just staring out the window Your focus is not unlimited. Protect it like your career depends on it - because honestly, it does.

People don’t buy from brands—they buy from people they trust. Trust is the foundation of every successful social media sale. Some think flashy ads and viral posts are the key to social media sales. But the truth? Consistent trust-building beats short-term gimmicks every time. Show up consistently with valuable content. Engage genuinely with your audience—respond to comments, ask questions, and be human. Share testimonials and real customer stories to showcase authenticity. Be transparent—if you make a mistake, own it and make it right. Many believe that selling on social media is about having a large following. In reality, a smaller, engaged audience that trusts you can outperform massive, unengaged followers. I’ve spent years helping brands build trust on social media, transforming their online presence from overlooked to overbooked. I’ve seen firsthand that trust is the currency of the online world. When I started my journey into social media marketing, I thought success was all about going viral. I chased trends, tried every hack, and yet, sales were flat. Gradually, I shifted my focus to trust. I started listening to my audience, providing real value, and showing up authentically. The transformation was slow, but steady. Sales began to climb, not because of a single viral moment, but because my audience trusted me. In the noisy world of social media, trust is your superpower. Build it, nurture it, and watch your business thrive. #branding #socialmediastrategist

If you’ve been posting consistently... nothing seems to work! You might be making this ONE mistake. When I coach financial advisors and leaders, I often hear this: “Why does my content feel like no one cares?” The truth is, many people use social media to show off. They share flashy moments, wins, or polished versions of themselves. But that’s not what builds trust or a memorable personal brand. ❗️ Showing off only grabs attention temporarily. → It doesn’t create connection, value, or trust with your audience. → And without trust, your personal brand doesn’t stand out. Here’s the framework I teach to over 65,000 leaders: 1️⃣ Showing off: → This is the lowest level of personal branding. → It’s about displaying your life without thought or purpose. → It might get likes, but it rarely leaves a lasting impression. 2️⃣ Showcasing: → This is about being intentional with your content. → You curate moments that have value and meaning for others. → It’s not just about sharing your journey, it’s about teaching through it. 3️⃣ Showing through: → This is the highest level of personal branding ✨ → It’s about letting people see the real you—your struggles, growth, and values. → This is where trust is built, and your brand becomes unforgettable. When you move beyond showing off, your audience starts to care ❤️ They engage with you because they see your authenticity and value. Your personal brand becomes a magnet for trust, respect, and connection. Trust is built when you share your true self, not just your highlights. Remember, people don’t follow perfection. → They follow people who make them feel seen. What’s one small change you can make to build more trust? P.s. ✍🏻 I am Benjamin Loh, CSP, a strategic growth coach and consultant who has taught over 65,000 leaders in over 20 global cities and constructed some of the leading icons (TOT, Award Winners) in the financial industry in Asia through the power of authentic storytelling and authority building. 💪 Follow me for personal brand and growth insights. #topofmind #millennials #business

I was working with a coaching client recently, a senior guy with a crazy workload who needed to get more out of his days. We went right back to basics: We identified what time of day he does his best work - for him, it’s first thing in the morning. This is really precious time that has to be protected so that he can do the hard work that requires the most brain power. He normally gets into the office at 7am, but only has an hour or so before distractions in the form of other people, meetings, email and Teams messages arrive. So we removed all notifications from his laptop and phone. No more pop ups when a message arrives. To avoid the in-person interruptions he is now blocking out 7am to 10am every day in his calendar for deep work. (His diary was packed for the next few weeks, but we identified a date from which he is able to do this.) He is agreeing communication protocols with his team, based on those I used to use when I was at KPMG, which are: ✉️ Email - expect a response in a few days 💬 Teams / Slack messages - expect a response in a few hours 📞 If something is really urgent - pick up the phone Establishing these protocols manages everyone’s expectations and demolishes a very common default expectation that email or other messages need a quick response - most of a time they don’t, or if they do it is often because of poor planning by the sender. And to stop himself getting distracted by his own thoughts when he’s doing some deep work, he’s going to set a countdown timer on his laptop, either 25 minutes or 55 minutes, depending on what he’s doing. If he feels the urge to check email or remembers something else he has to do, he will check the timer as reminder to get back to the deep work, and he can look at the other thing once the time is up. This is just the tip of the iceberg, but these fundamentals are so effective, and I’m very excited about the really positive impact they’re going to have for him. If you could do with getting some time back in your day, I’d encourage you to give these a go too. #HighPerformance #Habits 📌 P.S. I can help your team perform better and get more time back for themselves. Productivity up, burnout risk down. Now booking into January 2024 - a great way to set your team off right for next year. If this sounds good, message me to find out more about creating an experience for your team that delivers feedback like this: ✅ "Fantastic - both the content of the presentation and the way it was delivered." ✅ "Extremely relatable content with some clear actions to take away and work on." ✅ "So much useful, practical detail with scientific backup where relevant." ✅ "Really well presented and perfect level of content." ✅ "You were brilliant - thank you!"

Trust builds businesses. Lack of it? Kills them quietly. I’ve seen it firsthand in the businesses I coach: You don’t need to shout louder. You need to build deeper trust. Because trust is what transforms: → Visibility into credibility → Content into clients → Buzz into business that lasts And it’s built on what I call the 4 Cs: 1/ Competence → Share insight that moves people, not just fills space. → Give them the how, not just pretty frameworks. → It’s not about being impressive. It’s about being impactful. → Let them feel your expertise before they ever buy. Your clients don’t want more information. They want someone who helps them act. 2/ Conviction → Say what you actually believe. → It’s not about being louder. It’s about being clearer. → People don’t trust experts who play it safe. → Speak to what matters, not just what’s trending. The more grounded I am in what I stand for, the more naturally the right people show up. 3/ Credibility → Story over spotlight. → Teach through what you’ve lived, not just learned. → Share the scars and the solutions. → Position yourself as the guide, not the hero. Your story isn’t baggage. It’s your best trust-building asset, when you own it. 4/ Consistency → Show up even when it’s quiet. → Let your presence build predictability. → Brands are built in patterns, not one-off posts. → Create a rhythm that makes people say: “I knew you’d say that and I trust it.” It’s not about going viral. It’s about becoming recognisable. Reliable. Respected. Because trust isn’t built by chance. It’s built by design and by choice. PS: What’s your focus this quarter? -More reach -Or more resonance? I’d love to hear where you’re at. ♻️Repost to help others build trust

Here's the new rule of GTM for 2025: it's about about TRUST not DISTRACTION. In 2024 and earlier, most companies were STILL playing the volume game: More cold emails More ads More noise But here's what I learned building partner programs at WeWork and Amex: 1. Identify Trusted Advocates Customers are more likely to trust recommendations from voices they already know and respect. Who influences our target audience? Who already has their attention and trust? These could be industry leaders, complementary solution providers, or niche communities. Build partnerships with those who already have a strong connection to your ideal customers. 2. Collaborate to Add Value, Not Noise Instead of interrupting your audience with another cold email or ad, collaborate with partners to create meaningful, value-driven touch points. - Co-host a webinar addressing a shared customer pain point. - Develop a joint white paper showcasing both brands’ expertise. - Offer bundled solutions that make life easier for the customer. 3. Leverage Existing Trust to Open Doors Partners are amplifiers AND bridges. They help you cross the “river of distraction” and reach customers without the noise. A well-placed introduction or co-branded recommendation carries far more weight than another outbound message. 4. Measure the Shift from Interruption to Influence If trust-building is your new GTM focus, your success metrics need to change too. Track things like: - Partner-Sourced Leads: Leads generated through trusted partner referrals. - Engagement Rates: How customers interact with co-created content or campaigns. - Pipeline Velocity: How quickly partner-driven deals progress compared to direct sales efforts. Breaking through the noise requires genuine relationships. It's no longer about whose voice is the loudest, it’s whose voice your audience already trusts. The future isn't about interruption and distraction. It's about trust.

The pressure to follow established cultural norms within an organisation can be strong, even if those norms are dumb and drain productive time or invade our non-work time. (And as Australia seeks to implement a right to disconnect law, it's important to remember that we all have a choice not to follow dumb cultural norms!) And one of the dumbest norms of all is to take a break from work to refresh one’s mental health and spend time with people that you love, only to dread the last two days knowing that you’ll have a thousand emails in your inbox waiting for you. I used to be the same and then I made a decision that changed everything for me. You can do the same. The last thing I wanted to do when I returned to work was to spend hours and hours reading out of date information or negating the purpose of my holiday and allowing overwhelm to immediately return. So I stopped and used the technology to my advantage. I set up a rule to send every message received during my holiday to trash. I freed up time in my first week back for people to bring me up to date - verbally - and by Tuesday I was usually all caught up. As opposed to trawling through my email day and night looking for the important messages. I ensured that people knew of my approach, so that it wasn’t a surprise that I didn’t have their email. I did this by using the text below in my out of office message. This is a cultural norm that everyone can immediately challenge. Name check someone in the comments below who would benefit from this! Copy and paste 👇 ------------- ‘Thanks so much for your email, however I’m currently on leave until xxxx. If you require assistance, please contact xxxx who is covering for me whilst I’m away. Please note that your email will be deleted. This is not because I don’t view its contents as important, but rather that I can do nothing with it, nor do I wish to return from holiday to a thousand emails, thus affecting my productive time for my first month back. Thanks for understanding (also, you should copy this approach!) [Your Name]’ -------------

How NOT to work on vacation. If you’re on vacation, I hope you’re not reading this. I hope you're off the grid, soaking in the quiet—or the joy—and letting your mind rest. But if you're still here, maybe this will help. It took me years to stop checking work emails while I was supposed to be on vacation. I used to think that staying connected would make me a better entrepreneur. More credible. More in control. That’s the credibility trap—the belief that constant work equals worth. But always being “on” comes at a cost. Chronic stress. Diminished focus. And ironically, lower productivity. Here’s what I now do to actually disconnect (rewriting my handwritten list so you can read it): 1 - Make rest a requirement, not a reward. 2 - Set clear expectations with clients and your team. 3 - Block time off on your calendar way in advance—in ink. 4 - Finish work early in the week. 5 - Ease out of work a few hours (or days) before you leave. 6 - Set your out-of-office reply. 7 - Delete your work email from your phone. 8 - Plan your return week to avoid reentry shock. 9 - Don’t pack work. 10 - Don’t plan to think about work. But if ideas come, jot them down and let them go. 11 - Close the office to open strong: clean your desk, empty your inbox, water the plants. 12 - And remember: true emergencies—rare as they are—can usually be handled by someone else. In France, we even made this a legal right: Le droit à la déconnexion—the right to disconnect. It protects your personal and family life by keeping work from bleeding into every hour of your day. So this summer, if you can, take a real break. You, your business, and your brain will thank you.