Welcome back to the Top Ten Laws of Productivity Series. Today’s law is to shut out all distraction while you are working. Each time you change tasks or get distracted it takes close to 30 minutes to fully reframe your mind back on the task.
It is all too easy to get distracted by what is going on around you while you are working. I have to admit, I am one of the most easily distracted people that I know. Just thinking certain thoughts cause my mind to shoot off in various directions with new ideas, connections, and memories.
There will always be some level of distraction when you are working. The best thing you can do is try and minimize everything that you have control over. Here are 6 areas that you can control.
6 Major Sources of Distraction
1. Disconnect the internet
This handles a large majority of distraction in one fell swoop. Disconnect the internet and you will no longer be barraged with messages, e-mails, and the random thought of clicking around to different websites.
The more time you can spend working offline the better your effectiveness will become. Try to do this for 1 – 2 hours at a time, and then take a 15-30 minute break in between. It works wonders!
2. Silence your phone
With today’s smart phones, many of us get more interuptions from our phones than our computers! I for one get tons of e-mails, IMs, texts, and other sorts of notifications on my phone all day long. When it is time to work, the phone must be silenced!
If necessary, change your voicemail to reflect that you are unavailable until ‘xx’ time. Phone calls alone will really throw you off of your flow.
3. Close your doors and tell everyone not to disturb you for a period of time.
If you work in an office this is especially relevant. Get everyone into the habit of only coming to bother you during certain, “open office” hours. If you work from home, this could also apply with the spouse and kids.
In person distractions can be even worse than phone distractions, because it is harder to get rid of the person distracting you.
4. Change your music, or turn it off
Music can help you to ease into a special work rhythm, however it can also harm your productivity. If the music is engaging then you will focus too much of your thoughts on enjoying it rather than concentrating on your work.
I find that I work really well with upbeat classical or electronic styles of music. Certain types of music have different effects based on the situation. Be sure to remain conscious of the mood of each song that you listen to so that you can calibrate your listening pleasures to improve, and not hinder your productivity.
At worst, do not hesitate to turn off the music completely.
5. Get comfortable
Another source of distraction can be discomfort. If you are constantly fidgeting from an uncomfortable seat, or shivering from being too cold, your state will be hindered. Take the necessary steps to become comfortable, whether it is to grab a blanket, turn on the A/C, or find a better chair and position to work in.
6. Clear your mind
Finally, another huge distraction, especially for myself, is the constant barrage of thoughts that our minds produce. This may be one of the most important of the entire list to overcome. Do what is necessary to calm and clear all external thoughts from your mind and become present.
There are many ways to improve on this, and it will be a constant journey. One thing that will immediately help improve your mind focus, is to do a breathing excercise. Take a deep breath inward to a count of 5, hold that breath for 10, and then release the breath over another 5 seconds.
You may also try meditating for a short while, even 5 minutes before beginning a long work session. This will help to relax you and bring your mind into the present moment.
Try these ideas out next time you sit down to work on a project and I promise that you will see results immediately! What distractions disrupt you the most? What has been the most productive that you have been? What allowed that to happen? Good luck and be sure to sign up for the RSS for future updates!
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Distractions make it hard to work for yourself. If you have a job in some office work must get done or else. Hard to make time for distractions there. But when trying to work on a project by yourself there’s always room for distractions
. The true entrepreneur knows how to block out all the unnecessary nuances of life.
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When I first began working from home doing programming, I would get distracted all of the time! Also, I found that when I was doing things I didn’t want to do I definitely got even MORE distracted. Interesting.
Anyhow, yes learning to block out the distractions is a very useful skill for really any profession, or activity.
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