How to Eliminate Distractions at Work?

As earlier, we told you that one of the major productivity killers is distractions. They throw you out of your working flow. Every time you get distracted, you probably lose much more time than the actual period of the distraction. Even if the distraction might look insignificant and natural to you, it will have a serious impact on your concentration and productivity. In this article, we will discuss how to eliminate distractions at work.

Eliminate Distractions at Work

A research has revealed that on average you need 23 minutes to completely regain your concentration after a single distraction. Distractions significantly influence the quality and efficiency of your performance at work. So what is the solution? Here are a few tips to eliminate distractions at work.

Find your frequent distractions

Even if distractions are an unavoidable part of our working day, each of us gets detracted differently. So, you need to observe your own weaknesses and working habits. Keep a record of your working day by a time tracker to find out the recurrence and the character of your distractions. Since, first, you need to recognize your main time-waster behaviors to be able to nip them in the bud.

Turn off notifications

Notifications have grown into another significant cause of distraction in today’s life. Turn off the alerts that appear on your computer screen, smartphone, or any other device you own. You can respond to your missed calls or messages once you have a certain break in your task.

Schedule Email Check

An average person checks his/her email about 15 times per day at work. By that, you can imagine how much time you waste on checking and replying to those emails. For a solution, try to decrease this number as much as feasible. Checking your email once a day is a perfect habit if you can manage this. Find the rhythm of your day and schedule the email check-in on the low productivity duration of your working day. Keep your peak hours for more critical tasks.

Avoid gossips during working hours

Another big distraction seen in the office is distractions. Also, this “shoulder tapping” is one of the most common delays at work. A suitable solution for this sort of distraction is to use headphones, which will “protect” you from unnecessary topics and random chats with co-workers. You can also use other methods to tell your associates that you are involved in work that needs a special focus. For instance, put a “do not disturb” sticker or flag on your desktop.

Follow your to-do list

Try to strictly follow your planned agenda. Of course, several surprising tasks will arise during work. To tackle them efficiently, simply retain an extra half an hour for them on your plan. Concentrate constantly on one thing. Don’t try to manage unscheduled jobs by multitasking. Because in most cases, multitasking affects your brain’s efficiency and lowers your IQ.

No doubt distractions are an integral part of our lives as they are natural. Hence, totally avoiding them might be difficult, but try to do your best to overcome them as much as possible. Develop new attitudes that assist you to reduce interruptions and boost your focus.