From text messages and phone calls to co-workers stopping by to chat, most of us encounter so many distractions on a daily basis at work that it’s sometimes surprising that anything gets done. Even when working from home, there’s a steady onslaught of emails, chat messages and meeting invites to manage.
Distractions don’t just come from external sources either. Sometimes they come from our own brains. While thinking about how to solve a business problem, for instance, your mind may wander to that bank deposit you forgot to make, what you’re going to have for lunch, or more often than not, what other tasks you need to complete before the day is done.
Here are some strategies to help you be more productive by reducing both internal and external distractions, while still leaving you time each day for much-deserved breaks now and again.
1-Organize Your Workspace to Minimize Distractions
Position your desk so that you’re facing away from busy areas outside your office door or cubicle and so it’s not directly facing windows with buzzing activity outdoors that could distract you from work. Have a tray for catching incoming documents, files and mail so that you stay organized and can get to it when you’re ready without being distracted by it. Likewise, only keep one task in front of you at the time or one webpage open if you’re working on your computer. Silence your phone when you’re trying to focus and close your door, if you have one, to minimize noise. If you don’t have a designated office or can’t totally block out sound, consider investing in noise-cancelling headphones.
2-Let Others Know When Not to Disturb You
When you need to concentrate without distractions, be sure to let others in your office know that you have set parameters for when you’re available and not available. For example, let your office staff know that you aren’t taking calls or visitors for a specific timeframe, put a “Do Not Disturb When Door Is Closed” sign on your door, or put display a sign-up sheet that lets visitors book a time if they want to meet with you. There are many digital apps like Calendly that co-workers and those outside your office can also use to book a call with you or set up time to meet in-person. Such apps can also be used to reduce random phone calls when you’re working from home.
3-Block Out Your Day
Set blocks of time aside each day to handle specific tasks like responding to phone calls or emails instead of trying to answer them as they come in. For example, many productivity experts recommend putting off responding to emails until the afternoon and using the morning when you’re fresher to work on high-priority tasks.
4-Set Aside Calendar Time for Yourself
Set aside some time on your calendar each day to work on your business. This includes setting business goals, coming up with solutions to problems, and setting priorities. It doesn’t have to be a large chunk of time. Thirty or 60 minutes should be sufficient if you consistently set aside time every day or, if you can’t manage every day, try doing this at least several times each week.
5-Complete Tasks in Short Bursts
A task that takes an hour to complete can easily take an entire day when you have constant distractions or are multitasking. That’s why it’s important to focus on one thing at the time and to minimize interruptions. An effective strategy for getting things done in minimal time is to set aside a short period of time to do it and use a timer. When you have a timer set for 30 minutes, you may very well find that you can quickly knock out a task that you might have previously gone back and forth to all day long without ever finishing.
6-Plan Ahead for the Next Day
At the end of each day before you go home, take a few minutes to write out a to-do list or put blocks of time on your calendar for the next day. Not only does this make the next day go much smoother, but it also lets you forget those things when you go home because they’re already documented.
