As you sit down to read this, I'm betting you've already been distracted at work at least once today, if not more.
It's possible
that you'll be interrupted before you've finished reading this article.
The basic
reality is that we all experience distraction at work every day, and someone or
something may lead you to be distracted every hour.
With so many
meetings to attend, co-worker discussions or drop-ins, social updates, calls, emails,
and countless other interruptions, being productive and getting the vital
things done may often feel like a real effort.
Distractions
reduce our productivity and energy levels. They have an impact on our capacity
to focus and persist with projects or tasks long enough to complete them.
Think about
your work week, and I'm sure you can recall 5 to 10 objects or people that led
you to be distracted from your work duties.
But most of
those distractions are caused by you, and how many are caused by your working
environment?
A Guide to
Dealing with Distractions in the Workplace:
1.
Talkative Co-workers:
It is
critical to cultivate ties with your team and co-workers. Daily discussions are
essential for maintaining a pleasant, collaborative attitude and mood in the
workplace, yet it is all too easy to become engrossed in endless talks and
gossip.
If your door
has always been open, it is quite simple for someone to come in and ask
inquiries, which pulls you off from your productive job.
How to
Stay Focused and Avoid Distractions:
Consider
having a private conversation with a team member who is always talking or
distracted about how it's hurting your day.
2. Email
Usage:
We've all
experienced how distracting e-mail can be. How many emails do you get and send
in a normal day? You're working on a critical project when you get a
notification that you've got an email.
You now have
two options. You can either stop what you're doing and interrupt your attention
to read the email, or you may go on with your work to look at the email later.
Many people spend their entire day in this manner.
They are
completely focused on something essential when an email notice appears.
Many people
spend their entire day in this manner. They are completely focused on something
essential when an email notice appears.
You stop what
you're doing, go to your inbox, and read the email, which is frequently
entirely unrelated and adds nothing to your present priority.
These emails
can lead to a continual sense of being overburdened, and they frequently result
in incomplete assignments at the end of the day.
This, in
turn, might give us the impression that we haven't had a particularly
productive day.
How to
Stay Focused and Avoid Distractions:
Time blocking
is the practise of reserving a set amount of uninterrupted time to work on a
project or job. Commit to
not checking emails (or returning phone calls) during this time.
Rather than
examining and responding to emails one by one, let them to collect before
allocating dedicated time to review and reply to them.
Replying to
emails in bulk takes less time than responding to them one at a time, and it
helps you to keep focused on the topic at hand without being side-tracked.
Rather of
checking email first thing in the morning, utilise this valuable time when you
are more motivated and focused to concentrate on your one or two top objectives
for the day.
3. Office Noise:
Whether you
work in a large or small office, you've probably noticed that workplaces can
get quite noisy, whether it's due to discussions, phone calls, music, or other
noises.
Many
employees are dissatisfied, unproductive, and overworked. They have little
ability to think creatively and productively.
How to
Stay Focused and Avoid Distractions:
If you have a
special project that requires peaceful, uninterrupted time, consider working
from a quiet place within your building.
Working at
home (if permitted) or another venue, such as a park or restaurant, are
options. There will always be noise in a workplace, but most of the times it
will be tolerable, but you may need to alter your surroundings from time to
time to get your most essential job done.
4. Use of
Smartphones (And Other Devices)
Constantly
checking your phone disrupts your workflow and concentration. That would be
enough to divert anyone's attention.
We are all
aware that cell phones and other devices regularly interrupt us and divert our
focus away from the project or activity at hand.
It's all too
simple to take a break from our essential work to check our phones, watches,
and other electronic devices.
How to
Stay Focused and Avoid Distractions:
Move your
phone elsewhere: It's
incredibly tempting to check our phones even when we're working on a critical
assignment.
What is the
solution? Put your phone in a drawer or move it out of reach so you won't be
tempted to check it.
Disable
notifications: Disable
any notifications that do not demand urgent attention, particularly social
media notifications. This includes email if you have it configured on your
phone.
5. The
ability to multitask
We all have
to multitask from time to time, but the less we do it, the better. Multitasking
has been shown to impair creativity and productivity. Multitasking causes us to
slow down and lose attention, productivity, and energy. Our brains simply
cannot manage several things at the same time.
How to
Stay Focused and Avoid Distractions:
Work in time
chunks. It reduces the amount of distraction in our increasingly linked life.
It shields us not just from the distractions of others, but also from our own
self-inflicted diversions.
Conclusion:
Distractions
in the workplace will never go away. To make better use of our time and enhance
productivity and creativity, we must first identify what is distracting us and
devise ways to counteract it.
Written By - Tanya C
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