It’s Monday morning and you’re at work. And all you can think about was the fun you had at your family reunion over the weekend.
You just checked Facebook and saw all the great photos your cousin posted from the reunion. They look great, and you want to add comments to each photo, especially the ones with Uncle Bob and Grandma Sue.
But there’s that team meeting at 10:30AM you need to prepare for.
And your latest customer is waiting to hear from you about the impact on the schedule after scope changes have been added .
Sigh. What can you do to get back on track and stay focused at work?
Whether you have a dozen email messages to respond to, three phone calls about the latest project changes, or something you’d rather not do, being distracted at work causes you to lose valuable, productive time.
In this infographic from On Stride Financial, you’ll find over a dozen tips to help you avoid distractions and stay focused on your work.
Personally, my biggest work distraction is email. I’m working hard on checking email, trying my best to limit it to three times a day: morning, lunchtime, and before end-of-day. Some days it works, other days it doesn’t.
How about you? What’s your biggest distraction at work? What are doing to manage it?
Check out the key takeaways from the infographic:
Courtesy of: On Stride Financial
How to Focus at Work in the Age of Distractions
Distractions are everywhere in our fast-paced, digital world.
If you have just checked your social media accounts for the 15th time today—even though your ‘to-do’ list is nowhere near complete—you should try the following tips to keep yourself focused and distraction free.
The Cost of Interrupted Work
Distractions are not just frustrating; they can be exhausting and costly to your productivity levels.
- 2.1 hours a day: the amount of time lost to distractions
- 11 minutes: average time on a task before we get distracted
- 25 minutes: the amount of time it takes after distraction to return to the task
Even more alarmingly, the average IQ is reduced by 10 points due to constant technological distractions—this is double the amount of points lost in a study of Cannabis users.
Resisting Distractions
Despite the temptation of powerful distractions, there are several things you can do to manage them in order to complete your work.
Organize Your Workspace
An average desk worker wastes 2.5 hours a day searching for information buried somewhere on their desk.
- De-clutter your desk. Shred papers that are no longer needed and keep trays clear of anything except the necessities.
- Create a tray system. To help manage all the paper you accumulate, have an in tray/out tray system which is then cleared at the end of the day.
- Keep walls clear. Remove 95 percent of your office wall decor–a clear wall means you have less stuff to be distracted by.
Organize Your Time
The annual Wasting Time at Work Survey reported that 89 percent of respondents admitted to misusing time at work each day.
- Prioritize daily tasks. Select the top three most important tasks to do each day, and complete them first.
- Set minimum to achieve. Focus on doing a minimum amount of work instead of a set amount. Your minimum will start to increase.
- Work in focused bursts. Work for 50 minutes without distraction, followed by a 20-minute technology-free break.
Organize Your Inbox
A 2012 study revealed that workers spend more than 25 percent of their day reading and answering emails.
- Designate set times for checking emails. Check and organize your inbox three times a day. If an inbox action takes more than two minutes, do it straight away.
- Turn off email alerts. Alerts disrupt your focus every time something new comes in.
- Set up folders. Split your emails into folders to be dealt with based on priority.
Take a Digital Detox
Workplace performance depends on your ability to problem-solve effectively.
To do this, you need time and focus, which is almost impossible with digital technologies demanding our attention 24/7.
- Schedule social media time. Turn off your devices for one hour, which will keep your attention focused.
- Switch off. Try turning all your devices off for just one hour—you’ll be surprised how much you can do when your attention is not being redirected to other activities.
- Work away from your computer. Where possible, use a notepad. Research shows time away from your PC can improve concentration and willpower.
By incorporating these tips into your working day, you’ll minimize the impact of work distractions and improve your overall output.
