Management 4-1-1

Email, instant messaging, knocks on the office door, cell phones… Lion’s, Tigers and Bears… Oh My!!!

In today’s world of information overload, instant gratification and a never ending barrage of distractions – it’s a wonder that we get anything done. 

And I admit it!! I’ve had my share of difficult times staying focused on some of my most critical projects due to common everyday distractions.

There is good news!!  You can often control your destiny by practicing a few distraction-busting habits!

Here are 3 quick and practical tips that have helped me defend against distractions.  As a result, I can better focus my time on making progress towards my most important tasks.  And through this efficiency, I’m able to better schedule and carve-out time to deal with these distractions on my terms.  Here we go…

1.  Turn off your email inbox alerts – Some email settings are defaulted to alert you every time you receive an email.  For me, the constant interruptions of email alerts became distracting.  Anytime I saw an email alert, I would stop what I was doing and see if I could quickly reply.  As a result, I could never get a rhythm on the work I had carved out time to do.

Easy solution…. Go into your email settings and turn-off your email alerts.  I tried this, and results paid off.  I was able to stay focused and didn’t feel the pressure of responding to every email instantly.  Instead, I scheduled time to review and respond to email.

2.  Single-task – Most people multitask.   Research has shown multitaskers are actually really bad at multitasking.  I know for me personally, I find I’m less efficient and focused when I multitask.  I have too many windows open on my desktop.  I try to catch-up on emails during conference calls… it’s all badness!

Recently, I tried single-tasking.  WOW!!! Whenever I work on something (or I have a meeting with someone), I make sure I only have the documents I need for that activity.  I put everything else away.  I also turn-off email.  This forces me to be completely focused on the project at hand.  By taking this approach, I get more done in a shorter period of time.

3. Check yourself hourly with a “beep” – I learned this neat trick recently and has helped me ensure I’m doing what I should be doing.  I wear a digital watch with a timer.  I set the timer to go off every hour (e.g., 12:15).

Each time my timer “beeps”, I take a moment and get aware of what I’m doing.  Am I working on what I should be working on?   If I’m not, I can use the beep as a reminder to get un-distracted.  Or I can acknowledge the distraction should take priority.  Either way, I’m aware and making a decision.

By implementing these quick (and easy) changes to my working style, I actually found I got more done.  And I always made continual progress on my most important things.