Mastering Distraction
It’s tough. Distractions rule our lives – from social media and phone calls to other workers. Maybe you work at home and you have pets or children. Our hobbies and passions are more compelling than the work we have to get done.
What do you do?
There is only one answer. Discipline. Make some choices about priorities and Choose. Easier said than done. Here are a few tips that work for me.
- Get Clear: Take 20 minutes and get away from the distractions – out on the patio, in the living room, conference room, even in your car in the parking lot (if it won’t make anyone nervous!) On a pad of paper, write 10 priorities off the top of your head. Work on the list until you can put them in order of importance.
- Set up systems to support you: ~ Most email programs allow you to categorize email as it comes in. I receive a lot of ezines – so in my address book, they are identified as ezines, and a mail rule sends them to the “Ezine” folder. Same with friends who send me cute, funny, interesting, and LOTS of stuff during the day. Those emails go into the “Friends” folder. ~ Set up a separate email address for all Social Networking emails, and set it to Manual, so it won’t automatically check for email till you ask for it – then have a set time to check SN email a couple of times per day. ~ Set your Voicemail on both desk and cell phones to – 1) answer commonly asked questions; or 2) give out your “office hours”; or 3) tell callers you answer most calls after 2PM… whatever works for you.
Just because you have a cell phone doesn’t mean you should be available 24/7 (unless you are my doctor or an on-call First Responder. Ignore in that case.)
- Make a short-term plan: I’m all for starting slow. Anyone can commit to doing a few things differently for one month – you can then tweak it to work for you. If you have to, make the plan for one week. The Plan? Committing to blocks of time during your day. Example: I spend the first 5 minutes and the last 15 minutes of my day getting organized. I check emails for only 20 minutes at at time. I read friends emails during lunch, and ezines on the weekend or at night. Whatever your time drains are, set limits around them.
- Attack the Clutter with my Low Impact Housekeeping™ method: ~ Buy a loud timer that ticks. ~ Once per day, set the timer for a short period of time: 10-15 minutes. ~ Set a short goal: For the next 10 minutes I will clean off my desk and straighten around my chair. For the next 10 minutes I will review all the miscellaneous paperwork in my in-basket and act on it. For the next 10 minutes I will start pulling 2009 files for taxes and archives. NOW – this is key - When that timer goes “DING!” You must STOP what you are doing. Yes. Stop. Put the file box on the side. Close the file drawer. Put what’s left back in the in-box. Then get back to work.
You will notice you are energized when you have systems working for you instead of against you. And you will be energized by having clear goals. The last exercise energizes you because you get some adrenaline pumping when you are competing with a timer. If you can make yourself stop the exercise and get back to it for 10 -15 minutes the next day, and the next, you’ll discover it starts to go away. Granted, some projects require more time. So – set the timer for 45 minutes instead. But stop when it rings.
One last note – The National Institute of Mental Health reported in this report, Brain and Clutter that clutter “suppresses the brain’s ability to respond.”
So what does that mean for you? Clear your desk, clear your kitchen counters, clear your floors – Clear anything that is pulling you away from your focus. Find a way to create a viable workspace for yourself that doesn’t distract you. You deserve that much.
What tips can you share that work for you?
Beth
© 2010 Beth Terry Seminars, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Thank you!
Today, I set up Google Reader, which I think is going to help a lot. I had all my blog subscriptions coming into my email inbox.
I love your suggestion of creating a separate folder for Social Networking emails. OMG. I get so caught up in accepting facebook friends, joining facebook groups, replying to facebook event invitations, responding to Twitter DMs, etc. that I lose track of my “To Do” list.
The clutter is another important one for me. I KNOW that a cluttered desk makes me resist working there. And yet the paper piles up. I don’t know where it all comes from. I have been diligent about getting off paper mailing lists, receiving bills and statements online, refusing paper brochures and flyers, keeping my notes in a notebook instead of on scraps of paper, and yet my desk is STILL full of paper. If feel like if I could get to the bottom of that mystery, I’d be a master of the universe.
The Other Beth Terry
Hi Beth – LOL – I have the same problem. We are passionate, creative people with a lot of plates in the air. Here’s what I do. Once a week, I grab all the piles and stack them on my lap. I have an “Active” file cabinet right next to my desk. I have blank file folders and post-it notes on the desk while I do this. Then I go through the whole stack and file, toss, make new files, or put a fluorescent pink post-it note on it with the Action I need to take. Then if I wind up stacking again, I stack them in order of priority and put like with like. So all “CALL” items go in the same pile on the floor behind me. That’s important. You can stack, just put them behind you so your desk is cleaner. (I don’t think we’ll ever have a completely empty desk unless company is coming over!) Another thing – take the stapler, paperclip holder, scissors, ruler, and all that stuff off the desk and stick them in a drawer or a shelf out of eyesight.
I like your idea of Google Reader. Hadn’t thought of that! Thanks!
Beth
This is such a helpful post for me today, Beth. I’ll come back and read this one again, because you had so many “action” steps to offer that I can actually use–and do. I’ll come back to click on that article about clutter, too, after I get rid of mine.
Thanks!