What’s My FQ? Assessment – Dr Kristy Goodwin

What's your Focus Quotient (FQ)?

Take the quiz to find out how digitally distracted you really are.

Want to know your FQ ?

How do you stack up when it comes to digital distractions? Are you a device meister who can't put your phone down? Or, are you a tech tamer, with the right approach to managing your digital distractions? Find out with our quick quiz. It takes just 5 minutes to complete (so long as you don’t get distracted) and we’ll send your personalised results straight to your inbox.

Your FQ Assessment will provide you with an FQ score from Low Average to Superior.

Are you in ‘Digital Distress’, do you need a ‘Screen Wean’, are you a ‘Tech Tamer’, or a ‘Media Master’?

What’s Your FQ? is a tool that can help you identify your current levels of focus, in an age of digital distractions. It will help you to examine your digital behaviours and habits, your current performance and experiences at work and home, so that you can ascertain whether your focus skills are being compromised.

No identifying data is collected so please rest assured the results are completely anonymous. Data from your team/organisation’s assessment will be aggregated and analysed and stored on a secure site.

You’ll receive your individual results in a downloadable PDF that you can keep for your own personal reference.

✏️Before you Begin

This assessment consists of 15 statements. For each statement, mark the level to which it applies, for a ‘typical’ week of work. Answer honestly to give you an accurate insight into Focus Quotient

1. How frequently do you check your phone?

Multiple times an hour (i.e. > 50 times per day).

Between 10-50 times a day.

Less than 10 times a day.

At dedicated times of the day, or strictly when I need to.

2. You’re on your way to work and realise you’ve left your phone at home. What do you do?

Panic and immediately turn the car around to retrieve it. I couldn’t function without my phone.

Have heart palpitations, think about what you could do without your phone and then decide to head back to retrieve it.

Fret a little and then come up with an alternative plan for the day (including letting your family and friends know they need to contact you via social media or email).

It’s no big deal. It’s happened before and you coped just fine. In fact, I liked it and I would consider doing it again.

3. Where is your phone when you sleep?

Right beside my bed where I can get to it, switched on and volume up (I don’t want to miss a thing!)

In my bedroom and in my line of sight but switched to airplane mode or ‘do not disturb’.

In my bedroom. It’s out of my line of sight and switched to airplane mode or ‘do not disturb’ mode.

On silent, switched off and/or out of the bedroom completely. I need to sleep!

4. When you wake up in the morning, how often is your phone the first thing you reach for?

I always check it first thing (and always before I reach for or greet my partner in the morning).

I often check my phone when I wake up.

I occasionally check my phone first thing after I wake up.

I never check my phone when I wake up (it’s not even in my bedroom).

5. What’s your relationship with social media?

I can’t live without it. I jump from Instagram to Facebook, to LinkedIn and then to TikTok and repeat this cycle constantly, checking for updates and notifications.I’m also constantly posting.

I check my social media regularly throughout the day, also whenever I get an alert or notification, or when I’m simply bored.

I check social media at scheduled times of the day and try to stick to these limits.

Once a day for a very short period of time (if at all), or at an as-needs basis.

6. How often do you use and check your email?

Around the clock. I’ve even been known to send client emails at 1am.

Whenever I’m awake and hear the ping of my inbox.

I nibble on my inbox throughout the day. If I hit a challenging step in my data analysis, or if I’m bored waiting for my coffee, I dive into my inbox.

At scheduled times of the day. I’ve set up an autoresponder to let people know when I’ll likely be able to respond.

7. You hear the ping of a Teams or Slack notification. What do you do?

Dive straight in of course. I need to respond immediately.

Glance at the message and scan if it’s urgent and then keep on doing what I was doing before the ping.

Ignore it and keep working. I know I can easily go down the digital rabbit hole if I open it.

What notification? I’ve disabled all notifications. I also bundle notifications to arrive at specific times of the day when I’m not doing focused work (i.e. happy to be distracted).

8. On average, how long can you work without a digital distraction interrupting you (e.g. how long could you work on a client report without the ping of an email, a phone call or a Teams notification)?

A few minutes if I’m lucky. I’m in a perpetual state of distraction.

For about 10-20 minutes. Max. Then I’ll either hear the ping of an email, or I’ll just do a sneaky check of one of my social media accounts or Teams/Slack chats.

I turn off or manage most of my digital distractions if and when I need to stay focused on an important task. I’ve disabled non-essential notifications.

I turn off or manage all of my digital distractions all of the time. I’m totally in control of what and who interrupts me. I’ve bundled my notifications and often activate Do Not Disturb or Focus mode on my various devices.

9. How often do you use your phone in social or business situations when you probably shouldn’t be using it (e.g. whilst driving, crossing the road, in a meeting, at your child’s school assembly, on a date, at the movies)?

I’m embarrassed to admit that I regularly do this.

I often do this, even though it infuriates my colleagues and/or partner and myself at times.

I rarely do this. I really try hard to resist digital distractions.

I never do this. I’ve set up Screen Time or use Google Wellbeing to make sure important calendar events automatically activate the ‘Do Not Disturb’ function and I always turn off my phone or leave it in another room when I’m with my partner/kids/colleagues.

10. How do you generally use alerts and notifications on your devices (i.e. phone, laptop, tablets)?

They’re pinging and beeping all the time (and I worry I’ve lost service if I have a few minutes of respite). Pings and dings are the sound track of my day.

They’re switched on for particular apps but I check them most of the time as they come through.

I have limited alerts and notifications switched on my devices.

I’ve turned off all alerts and notifications on every device I own.

11. How often do you multitask?

All the time (heck, I’m answering this quiz, whilst on a call and checking my emails).

Most of the time, or I’d never get anything done!

Some of the time, even though I know I shouldn’t do it.

Never. I know how much it hampers my productivity.

12. You’re working in the office and need to get some focused work done. What do you do?

I’m not sure. I usually work in an open-plan office, with my phone pinging next to me and the ding of emails punctuating my workday.

I try to find a quiet place to work, but before long people are knocking at the door and I forgot to put my phone on Do Not Disturb mode so I’m easily distracted.

I’ve found a quiet place to work, put ‘Focus’ mode on Teams/Slack, but do a quick check of my inbox every half an hour or so (just in case).

I shut the door (if I have one, or put on some headphones if I don’t), put a sign up that says ‘Do Not Disturb’ and put my phone in my drawer so I can tackle some deep, focused work without interruption.

13. How often do you go for a walk/run/gym without listening to something on your headphones?

Never- do people really exercise without headphones these days?

Very rarely. I’m usually listening to a podcast or audiobook (on 1.5 speed, of course).

Occasionally- I love to let my mind wander every now and then.

Regularly! I love to move and let my mind meander. This is when I often come up with great ideas, or solve problems I’ve spent months agonising over.

14. You’re waiting at the coffee shop, the grocery store or at the doctor’s surgery. It will be a five-minute wait. What do you do with this time?

Tap, swipe, pinch on my phone. I’m usually so engrossed I don’t realise they’ve called my name, or am oblivious that it’s my turn.

I have the best of intentions to just wait and daydream, but the minute I hear an alert, I’m sucked into the digital vortex.

Wait for a couple of minutes and then pull out my phone and start tapping, swiping and pinching… even though I know I should relish the white space.

Enjoy the solitude. I let my mind wander and daydream. I love these moments!

15. How long can you read a book or magazine or watch TV before becoming distracted?

I rarely if ever have time for reading… I’m often glued to my phone. If I’m watching TV I’m multi-screening- TV on and phone in my hand.

Short periods of time. I’ve realised just how distracted and digitally-dependent I’ve become recently… especially when I find myself tapping and pinching my book or magazine!

I can do a solid 30-60 minutes, but notice I can become distracted, especially if my phone is in close proximity.

Hours at a time. I love the time to think deeply and get lost in a book (or magazine).

Loading …

Question 1 of 15