Defeat Distraction: Refocusing with Purpose

Here’s a scenario: you jump into email or [insert preferred social network here] and start doing a few tasks, reading a few things, taking care of business … but soon get lost in the swarm of distractions of little things, and two hours have gone by without getting anything important or meaningful done.

Ever happened to you?

Sometimes a big task will sit there on your todo list or email inbox, but you keep putting it off because you’re in the quick-task mode. It’s hard to do slower, more thoughtful tasks when you’re in quick-task mode.

This happens to me all the time. I will breeze through 10-15 emails because they require 1-2 sentence replies or a 2-minute task each, which means I can knock them off. But a larger task sits there in my inbox, waiting for action, and can sit there for an entire day or two.

Why? Because it requires a different mode of thinking.

And so we put it off, and let the distractions of the Internet carry us away instead.

What’s a better method? Refocus yourself. Change modes. Have a purpose for each thing you set out to do. This works for me every time.

Here’s how:

Catch yourself getting lost. When you see yourself putting off a bigger email or task, and getting lost in little tasks or distractions, notice this. Watch yourself. Then pause.Pull back. Take just 10-20 seconds to stop what you’re doing, and take a step back. Look at the bigger picture of what you’re doing. What’s the most important thing you could be doing right now? A bunch of little tasks? Or is there something with more meaning on your list?Change your mode of thinking. When you’re in quick-task mode, you’re not going to be able to handle something that requires more focus and thought. Writing a longer piece is impossible when your brain is in quick-task mode. So, as you’re paused, refocus and change your mode. Prepare yourself for something with less switching and more staying.Know your intention. Taking a few seconds to remind yourself of your intention as you start a task is a good idea. If you’re going to write something, what’s the purpose of the writing? Who is it helping? How is it changing the world?

Taking just a few moments to see the bigger picture, change your mode of thinking, and set your intention for your new task is an important investment. It’s an easy thing to do, but it can change your work completely.

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How to Minimize Distraction to Get Things Done

If you’re like me, you’ve had two back-to-back workdays where, one day, you feel extremely productive and the next day, you feel like you didn’t accomplish a single thing. Having a productive day feels amazing, as if you’ve just conquered your profession. And those non-productive days, well, you’re just glad they’re over.

What I’ve learned through trial and error is that most of those unproductive days are, gasp, nobody’s fault but my own. Even if I was distracted by coworkers, or last-minute urgent projects arose, or I had a splitting headache, I should be able to tell people that I’m busy, or leave space in my schedule for unexpected work, or take a Tylenol and find a quiet, dark place to sit for 10 minutes. There are remedies for almost every distraction.

I’m not saying we can’t have a slack-off day every now and then, but if your unproductive days happen more and more often, it’s time to do a little soul-searching, organizing, and planning to make distractions go away.

According to a study conducted by the University of California Irvine, office workers are only able to focus on any single task for an average three minutes and five seconds before they’re distracted. And, surprisingly, 44 percent of those distractions are internal — hunger, boredom, stress, sleep deprivation. The good news is that internal distractions are the only kind we can truly control. Know your patterns for hunger, bored, stress, and sleepiness and plan ahead. Keep snacks at your desk, mix up your to-do list by interspersing boring and interesting tasks, or find a quiet place to take a short nap.

If 44 percent of distractions are internal, than 56 percent of distractions come from external sources. People, email, phone calls, pets (if you work from home like I do), and chatter from other cubicles fall into this category. To stop external distractions before they start, you have to give the right signals to the outside world.

Put up your “busy” message on instant messenger and wear headphones (even if you’re not playing music). Stand to greet cube visitors to show them you want to move the conversation along. If you face the entrance of your cube or office when seated at, move your computer to the back of the cube to face the wall when working. Subtle queues like these might seem a tad passive-aggressive, but they might also save you from annoying distractions.

Even though it might seem like the enemy most times, technology can be your anti-distraction friend. Turn off email alerts, set your phone to go straight to voice-mail or create an auto-response to text messages you receive that says something like, “In the middle of something; will get back to you later.” Block chunks of time on your calendar as “busy.” Unless your job involves life-or-death situations, everyone will manage just fine for the few hours when you’re off the grid.

In a recent study of 800 job seekers looking for flexible jobs conducted by FlexJobs, the number one reason for wanting to work from home was to avoid distracting coworkers. Even if you can’t work from home full-time, maybe your boss will let you telecommute one or two days a week in the interest of productivity. Or, try rearranging your work hours to be in the office earlier or later than typical work hours for some quiet time. Even escaping to Starbucks for an afternoon of coffee-fueled, solitary work can help you be more productive.

Are you a people-pleaser? A “yes man?” Is your favorite line from any movie, “I’m right on top of that, Rose!” from 1991’s Don’t Tell Mom the Babysitter’s Dead? The nicest people are often the busiest people, and when asked if they can help with something or take on a new project, they immediately accept to be polite or a team player. But if you’re already overloaded with work and feeling like you never get anything done, the last thing you should do is take on any new projects. Let people know that while you’d love to help, your plate is full.

If your unproductive days are starting to win out over your productive ones, it’s time to figure out where your distractions originate, and put a stop to them. By being proactive, silencing technology, working a more flexible schedule and letting people know, both passively and actively, that you are b-u-s-y, you’ll be less distracted and more productive.

Featured photo credit:  Man and woman working in office via Shutterstock

Brie Weiler Reynolds is the Content and Social Media Manager at FlexJobs, the award-winning site for telecommuting and flexible job listings, and a former career advisor. At FlexJobs, Brie offers job search and career advice, and work-life balance tips through the FlexJobs Blog and social media. Learn more at http://www.flexjobs.com/.

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4 Distraction Pitfalls and How to Avoid Them

Are you doing a task but without a 100% focus on it? Then later you realize that you have to go back to that task and fix the work because you were unfocused?

If you are experiencing this, you have wasted your time and you are bringing unnecessary stress upon yourself. What is distracting you? Why do you tend to focus less than 100% on your task when you take action?

Here are few reasons:

Working tired is perhaps something we are all guilty of – yet we do a task, thinking that we can perform it as well as if we were alert. Unfortunately this is not true.

Previously I have been guilty of this too; I began working tired and then the next day I had to go back and fix things, because I was not focusing enough initially.

Fortunately, I have learned from those mistakes and I now understand to quit working if I’m too tired to concentrate.

Some of the great ways to fix your tiredness is to:

Take powernaps (20 minutes max)Make sure that you get enough sleep (this depends of the person)Make sure your bedroom is dark and chilly enoughExercise regularly (but not immediately before going to sleep)Avoid eating heavy meals a few hours before going to bedAnother cause for distraction is that you are not motivated to do the task in the first place.  Your mind wanders and you are not producing the best work quality that you are capable of.

If you are not motivated, you have to figure out why you are doing the task in the first place:

If that task belongs to your job, then you just have to deal with it since it’s part of the work. On the other hand, you can always discuss the situation with your boss – maybe you two will be able to come up with a solution for your issue.If the task is set by the law (like reporting your taxes to authorities), then there is nothing you can do about it – you just have to do the task even if you don’t like it (making sure to do it sooner than later).If the mundane work belongs to your personal project, you might consider outsourcing it for someone else, automating it or even questioning yourself: “Is this task really necessary?”Finally, if you have no justification for the task and it is not mandatory to do – then why are you doing it at all?Distraction exists on many levels and it’s one of the biggest reasons for underperforming in your work.

Not only is electronic distraction (e-mails, social media or Internet in general) ruining your work focus, it is also the physical and mental distraction that’s causing you to work with partial focus and achieve partial results.

First, you should find a place where you can fully focus on your task. This could be a library, coffee shop or out in the park.  Also, make sure you have all the electronic distractions like e-mail, cell phone or instant messaging turned off.

Second, if it’s your mind that’s causing you to underperform, make sure that you are fully rested, you are not hungry when you work and that you are not going through any type of emotional rollercoaster.

The fact is that all of these can increase your distraction level thus decreasing the chance of optimum output.

There is nothing more frustrating than trying to work on a task, but you don’t have a clue how to do it. If your skills are not enough for the task, then you are going to face a rough times trying to complete it while keeping your deadlines.

In a situation like this, you can reach out to other people.

In a day job situation, let the project manager or your boss know about the situation and have a chat together to figure out what to do (do you need mentoring or other colleagues to help you out?).

If this is your personal project or hobby we are talking about, you have to be willing to ask for help. I bet there are many people out there who have encountered a similar situation like you before.

Simply by asking, you can solve many frustrations and produce quality work.

When you decide to work on a task, make sure that the conditions surrounding you are as enjoyable and relaxing as possible (see the steps a-d above).

It is important to be “as perfect as possible.” In other words, whenever you perform a task, execute it with 100% commitment and focus. This means that you are doing the best you can with your current conditions and skillset.

Instead of aiming for perfection when executing your work steps, try to have perfect focus instead. This ensures that you produce quality work with the least amount of wasted time and energy.

It is important to realize that working with less than 100% focus is an inefficient way to complete tasks. In the worst case, you have to go back and fix errors – something that could have been avoided if you were focused from the get-go.

When you work on your task, make sure that the environment supports your productivity. This means cutting the online connections for a while, and if necessary, moving to a separate physical location while you work.

Finally, having a calm, rested mind is also a great way to tackle mental distraction. To increase your chances even more for great results, make sure you body is fed properly before you start working.

(Photo credit: Bored Young Businessman via Shutterstock)

Timo Kiander, a.k.a. Productive Superdad, teaches WAHD super dad productivity for work at home dads. If you want to get more productive in your own life, grab 222 of his best Tips for Becoming a Productivity Superstar.

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