“Be about actions, not distractions.”
Picturequotes.com
There are so many distractions that can pull our attention a dozen different ways. Today I wanted to look at external vs. internal distrations as well as solutions for dealing with interruptions.
First let’s look at some of the downsides or results of giving in to distractions.
- You can lose your focus on what you’re working on or where you last left off
- You may feel like you’re working in a scattered manner, doing a little bit here and a little bit there
- You may get pulled into someone else’s needs or goals and feel as if you’re at other people’s mercy
- You may feel like you didn’t get anything done that you wanted to by the end of the day
- If you aren’t getting important tasks done, work may end up cutting into your personal life and affect sleep and self-care
- You may not move your goals and your business forward
Now let’s look at a list of internal and external sources of distractions.
Internal
Thoughts:
- Ideas for other projects
- Worries
- Things you think of that you need to do
- Negative self-talk, self-doubt
- Thinking about something your worried or upset about
Body:
- Tired
- Too warm/too cold
- Hungry
- Thirsty
- Low blood sugar
External
Your Phone:
- Calls, texts, games, voicemails, email, web, research
Interruptions by Others:
- People talking to you or asking questions
- People having conversations around you within earshot
Meetings:
- Leaving the office to travel to another location, group meetings in your office, personal meetings via phone or video
Email:
- Time suck dealing with junk mail, spam, emails to read and emails to respond to
Housework or Errands:
- It’s tempting to stop working to take care of home chores or errands when you work from home
Now let’s look at some strategies to deal with internal and external interruptions.
Internal
Thoughts:
- Get things out of your head and onto paper so you feel confident you won’t forget what’s bouncing around in your head
- Talk out worries or issues or agree to come back to them later
- Get yourself back into the right mindset by saying, “Right now I am…” and fill in the blank with your task
Body:
- Adjust the room temperature
- Dress comfortably
- Fuel youreself properly through food and hydrating drinks
External
Phone:
- Turn phone your to silent, airplane mode or leave it in another room while working on high value tasks
Interruptions from people:
- Close your door while you’re working on high value tasks
- Let people know how much time you have to answer a question
Meetings:
- Balance meetings vs. work time and client time by making sure you don’t schedule too many and making sure they are critical to attend
- Improve efficiency such as holding a phone meeting vs. driving to meet with someone
Email:
- Turn off notification beeps and dings on your phone and just check in manually on your own schedule
- Don’t look at email while working on a non-email related task
- Process email in batches throughout the day instead of checking it every few minutes
Housework:
- Don’t get sucked in, just do quick task during a break like making the bed or throwing a load of clothes in the washing machine
Errands:
- Try to wait until after your work is done
Wrap Up
- Be prepared for distractions so you can avoid them to the best of your ability
- Don’t let distractions keep you from meeting your goals
- Work with zero interruptions for 96 minutes each day = 20% of an eight hour work day
“Be aware when distractions come your way. You’ll know it’s a distraction when you stop doing what you’re supposed to be doing and find yourself pondering things that have no value.”
Beverly R. Imes, Positive Impact
