Getting things done can be a hurdle if there are things and people constantly fighting for your attention; be it in the office or wherever it is you are trying to get work done. Identifying these distractions is the key to staying on top of your game and achieving what you set out to achieve. Below are five top distractions affecting your productivity to look out for;
Social Media
We can all agree that the highest form of distraction lately is social media. Tik Tok, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, etc. are constantly trying to fight for a place in our schedule.
The sad part is that they don’t have to fight hard enough. A touch of your phone and you end spending several minutes or even hours hopping from one social media platform to another.
Right after the thrill wears off, you realize the task at hand is still there – waiting to be attended to.
Actionable Advice : Make the social media apps inaccessible. Whether that means leaving your phone somewhere or temporarily removing the apps from the homescreen.
Whatever makes it temporarily impossible to access the apps, do that.
Mindless Productivity
You know those subtle procrastination tactics that don’t actually feel like procrastination? You are often willing to do anything aside from the only thing you are supposed to do.
If you are working from home, you would rather spend time wiping the TV or tidying an old cupboard that has been there for years. If you are at the office, you’d rather arrange your desk a million times than actually get your work done. At that very moment, you may be lying to yourself that you are actually being productive, knowing very well the one thing that needs to be done is yet to be touched.
Actionable Advice : Do the important tasks first. If you are working from home, do the work first thing in the morning before other things begin to take your attention.
If you are working from the office, get down to it as soon as you arrive. Once you get into the groove of work, it would be hard to let something else get in the way.
Mobile Phones
This may seem similar to social media but there are times when we get distracted by our phones not because we are on social media, but because we are simply scanning through aimlessly; hopping from gallery to search bars to search for random things.
It is when you have to work that you get the urge to search for the meaning of a random word or find out which year scissors were invented. These petty petty things end up being massive time wasters.
Actionable Advice : Leave your phone behind. Leave it with a colleague, lock it up in your desk, leave it in another room, etc. Anywhere aside where your work is being done.
Clutter
Sometimes how much work you are able to get done depends on how much your eyes can see around you.
Clutter not only unsettles your brain. It also creates distraction for your eyes. When you have so many things on your desk or the space you are working, you could easily lose focus.
Having little to no useless items surrounding you means you can focus better and do what you are meant to do.
Actionable Advice: Clean up your workspace. Do this before it’s time to work so you don’t end up spending your work time cleaning. Put away anything that is in no way relevant to the work you are doing
Conversations With Colleagues
This is one that is usually hard to avoid because you could easily be termed as unfriendly. Little chit chats here and there makes you lose focus. After a conversation is had, it could take several minutes for your brain to refresh and redirect to what it is you were doing.
If within those refreshing minutes something else is said, then you have to start all over again. You may think you probably get the work done anyway, but the outcome in that scenario cannot be compared to what you get when you are fully focused. This applies to digital conversations too. If you have to reply to every single message as and when it pops in, you’ll end up getting little done.
Actionable Advice : Put up a ‘Do Not Disturb’ sign. Yes, literally, if that’s what it takes. Or plainly make it clear that you need to focus and would rather not be engaged.
As for texts from your phone, you know what to do. Turn off your notifications, put it on silence mode or turn it off completely. You can always catch up when the work is done.
It’s usually hard trying to deal with these top distractions affecting your productivity, but it’s very possible with diligence and focus.
