1. Foci
Foci is a biometric wireless wearable which helps us to focus longer and better than we ever have before. Foci track our breathing patterns using tiny sensors and run them through a machine learning algorithm, which facilitates the device in identifying our cognitive state and keeping our mind on track if it starts wandering. Whenever we veer towards distraction, FOCI lets us know and remind us to refocus with a few soft and gentle vibrations. Foci has an app that uses a fluid orb to show the visual representation of where our mind is at. It floats and bobbles around the screen, changing colour from grey to purple, red, yellow, and blue to show if we are focused, distracted, calm, stressed, or fatigued. The fluctuations in our mental state are recorded minute-by-minute, which we can review and learn from. In addition, an ‘artificial intelligence mind coach’ gives personalised insight into our progress and focusing habits.
2. Noise-Cancelling Headphones
Noise-cancelling headphones eliminate unwanted ambient sounds by means of noise control. Noise-cancelling headphones comprise devices which not only effectively eliminate the background noise, but also they create sound waves of their own in the process. Noise-cancelling headphones are of two types: active and passive. In case of passive noise cancellation, the headphones are pressed against a person’s head and the sound is eliminated in the process of closing his/her ears off to the outside world. Alternately, active noise cancellation involves some interesting processes to eliminate sound. Together with the padding that passively blocks sound, microphones implanted in the ear wells of the headphones actively analyse the ambient noise level and reflect sound waves back into a person’s ear which works to zap the outside noise. The purpose is to hear nothing but the music, or whatever we are listening to. Noise-cancelling headphones can enhance listening enough to entirely offset the impact of a distracting concurrent activity.
3. Hemingwrite
The Hemingwrite is a distraction-free writing gadget. It fuses the simplicity of a typewriter with all the convenience of modern technology such as e-paper display, full-size mechanical keyboard, and cloud documents. The Hemingwrite is similar to a typewriter and comprises a blank writing canvas where users can do only one task, which is writing. The Hemingwrite has a better battery life and keyboard than a modern computer and is distraction-free like a word processor. It features a daylight readable, high contrast electronic paper screen for writing outdoors and indoors in the daytime or at night. The purpose of the Hemingwrite is to assist professional and aspiring writers during their drafting process by keeping them in a creative flow and eliminating anything which would be a hindrance. While using Hemingwrite, we can sync documents to the cloud in real-time, therefore we need not worry about retyping, saving, or transferring files.
4. Fidget Cube
Fidget Cube is a simple stress-reliever fidget gadget. There are many fidget gadgets which are self-regulation tools that help us to focus, stay calm, be attentive and listen actively. The anti-stress fidget cube is intended to provide an easy way to engage one’s hands and other senses, especially for self-soothing or children who have a tendency to fidget. The faces of the fidget cube carry certain features meant to stimulate different senses. The features comprise discs, buttons, cogs, balls, joysticks, dents, and switches. The faces are named based on their intended use. You can flip, click, roll, spin, guide, and breathe. The spinning, twirling, and clicking keeps children and adults hands busy and provides sensory stimulation for those with specific focus-related issues.
5. Saent
Saent is the world’s first smart device and software designed to make a person more productive and do great work. Saent combines a hardware device and software app to help users focus, do great work, and develop better work habits. The Saent app eliminates digital distractions and encourages people to concentrate on one task at a time while taking adequate rests or breaks to recharge. Saent creates the perfect conditions for people to do incredible work by blocking digital distractions and assisting people to develop healthier and more productive work habits. The Saent app encourages users to utilise only those websites and apps which are productive for their work while blocking out distractions such as app notifications or social networking sites, based on user input and a pre-defined list. The Saent button provides instant focus with a satisfying click and signals to those around us when we are busy.
6. Safilo High-Tech Eyewear
This is brain-sensing eyewear which is designed to help people improve their focus, relax, and rejuvenate them. The technology utilised is one which guides meditation through the help of a meditation mobile app that monitors and charts a person’s performance through the glasses. In order to increase our concentration power with this eyewear, all we need to do is wear the glasses and turn on the app. This will calibrate our brain waves as it takes us through some training on enhancing focus. The glasses comprise electronic sensors inside the frame and has a nose bridge and rubber nose pads which are designed to study the movements of the eyes and facial muscles. The study includes pressure, temperature, UV sensors and also about brain-sensing known as electroencephalography. Moreover, there is a chip which is implanted in the glasses to connect to the app through Bluetooth.
7. Brody Work Lounge and Desk
Working space is a crucial factor in our work. If our workspace is in the right place, we will be able to focus and concentrate properly. If we are sitting at a place which has a lot of noise, bad position and placement, we will get a plethora of distractions. Brody Work Lounge and Desk is designed to give a person a separate and an independent workspace and is meant to be good for our brain and our body. Brody Work Lounge and Desk is a high-performing private workstation designed specifically for the in-between spaces in education and corporate environments. This is a cubicle with a working surface counter, a back chair, and a place where we can put our things such as bags, documents, books and cables. Hence, if we are working at a place where they do not have cubicles, and we have a hard time focusing, then having this special cubicle can boost our focus and productivity.
8. RE-Vibe
It is the world’s first anti-distraction wearable designed to assist students who struggle with on-task behaviour. RE-Vibe encourages students to spend more time engaged in learning, thereby reducing the need for teacher and parents’ interventions. Leveraging a proprietary algorithm, RE-Vibe reminds wearers to get back on task, by way of gentle vibrations on the wrist, thus fostering confidence and independence in the classroom. Perfect for children as well as adults, this wearable is ideal for those with ADHD or autism. The main purpose of RE-Vibe is to ensure wearers are focused, and it is also designed to tell users when it is time to rest their eyes, or take a break, or just move on to the next big thing. RE-Vibe is pre-programmed with three different anti-distraction levels (mildly off task; moderately off task; severely off task) and a homework mode.
9. Mindset Smart Headphones
These are EEG headphones which help people by training them to reach deeper levels of focus. These state-of-the-art headphones have sensors which measure our concentration level in real-time. The mindset headphones are clinically proven since they are implanted with electroencephalography sensors which measure electrical activity in the human brain. The EEG’s cutting-edge techniques are used to infer anxiety levels, emotional and concentration states, among many others. Mindset also listens to our environment and eliminates any distracting noise. The integrated sensors are implanted in the small spring loaded electrodes which fit through anyone’s hair and sit gently on the head. Mindset then measures our concentration level in real time via tracking changes during the day. We can schedule sessions during high concentration and deep work times and the mindset headphones will alert us when we are distracted. This will help us to go back to what we were doing.
10. Amazon Tap
This gadget enables us to get everything we want without moving an inch from our working desk. With Amazon Tap, we can listen to music, launch Pandora and Spotify services, order pizza, and do a lot more with a single tap. We can also read and listen to the news separately on the Amazon Tap gadget and get quick weather reports. This would give us a separate space where we can quickly read the content and listen to music without disturbing our PC working environment and space
With the universe of distraction being one click away at any given moment, getting things done has become a complex challenge. The nature of technology, however, is ambivalent. Technology itself is neither white nor black; technology can be either a cause or a cure for today’s distraction endemic. It turns out, there are different anti-distraction gadgets designed to help us switch from distraction to productivity. Effectual and easy-to-use, these anti-distraction gadgets will save us a lot of time and energy. Along with using the gadgets listed in this article, practising mindfulness and improving willpower will help us resist distractions and prevent them from impeding our productivity.
