Dealing with Distractions
We’ve all been there: you set out to dive into the workday when your phone lights up with a notification of an incoming email or social media post. “I’ll just check it real quick,” you tell yourself. An hour later, you’ve accomplished nothing work-related.
While the majority of people would describe this scenario as par for the course, there’s a technical name for it: distraction.
Distractions come in a variety of forms, from smartphones to the internet to chatty coworkers. Whatever the distraction, their results are productivity killers. In small doses, distractions can be good. Small breaks throughout the day can actually boost productivity, but it’s the big distractions that are troublesome.
You can’t eliminate all distractions, but there are ways to minimize them. Here are 10 tips and suggestions for keeping distractions to a minimum so you can be more productive.
Identify. Pick a day of the week to list every distraction that disrupts your work. By making a list, you’ll be better able to identify distractions and form a plan to avoid or minimize them.
Prioritize. Every workday should include a to-do list. Prioritizing the most important tasks can help increase your focus on achieving them. With this focus, distractions you can control lose their appeal.
Schedule. A scheduled distraction isn’t really a distraction, it’s a break. Taking a 10-minute break to check your social media feed or watch a cat video can pay dividends in the long run, such as in increased productivity.
Inform. By making your intention to focus better at work known to coworkers, family members, and friends, it’s possible to minimize distractions.
Skull candy. Buying a pair of noise-canceling headphones can be worth the investment because they’ll help tune out the chatter and coworkers will be less likely to interrupt when they see the headphones in place.
Door dash. Not everyone has the luxury of an office door, but if you do, close it. Increased productivity and decreased distractions can result.
Ditch the device. Text messages and notifications are big time-suckers and distraction culprits. By turning off the device or putting it out of sight, laser-like focus to get your tasks done will be more likely. You can also turn off phone and app notifications.
Evade email. As tempting as it can be, you don’t have to read an email as soon as it arrives. Whoever emailed can wait an hour or two to hear back from you. Scheduling specific time to check email is a good way to deal with this distraction and focus better.
Relocate. If distractions are eating you alive, a change of venue might be in order. Is there an empty desk or room you can commandeer to focus better on your tasks? Take advantage of it. Your productivity may depend on it.
Delegate. An insurmountable pile of work can be frustrating and defeating, setting the stage to give in to distractions.
Passing a task off to a subordinate or coworker can save your sanity and help with getting things done.
Hopefully, these pointers will help minimize distractions and lead to a more productive day.