Why spend 12 or 14 hours at work when we can perform the same tasks in 7 or 8 hours? The unnecessary distractions reduce our ability to concentrate, make us less productive and force us to spend more time at the computer.
Do not check emails so often
It is not the first time that we say that email is the first and most important source of distractions that you have to deal with during your working day, but we have no choice but to insist on it.
At this point, it is worth mentioning a recent study developed by the University of Glasgow in which it is clear that many of the less productive workers tend to control their email up to 40 times per hour when it is reasonable to do it only three times up to date.
Forget about the phone
Sometimes, when we really need to maintain concentration at the highest level, we can opt directly to forget about the phone.
It is not about turning it off completely, but for example, we can restrict incoming calls except for certain numbers, activate the vibration mode, or directly leave it in another room, and then check the calls we received after a few hours.
Defend your workspace
For many, this can simply translate into closing the door of their office. However, when we work in open spaces (we do not have our own office) this defense must be done from the mental plane. A good solution is to use, for example, two different browsers.
The first one will only be used to perform tasks that are directly related to our work. We will open the second when we want to take a break, and spend a few minutes of disconnection. If our operating system allows it, we can also configure different “workspaces” for each of the areas we need.
Order your workspace
A messy table, not knowing where the objects we need are, a large number of unorganized papers are signs of a space that works against us. The goal of an orderly workspace is not that everything “looks nicer” but that we are more productive, and have more capacity to carry out tasks to fruition.
If every time we have to look for a document, we lose five minutes, can you imagine how much useless time we have let through the day?
Uses helmets
Some people need to isolate themselves from the world to be more focused. A good way is to use helmets, putting soft music that does not distract us. The idea is to use classical, jazz, or ambient music.
Music with lyrics is convenient, as we will easily lose concentration, spending more time thinking about the lyrics and the memories that remind us of our work. Some people choose to wear helmets without any music so that others have to think twice before interrupting them.
Everything you need has to be at hand
Before starting a task, make sure everything you need is at hand. Do you have all the necessary information/documentation? What programs are you going to use? Are you going to have to contact someone? In short, before starting your working day, it is no good that you do a little planning of everything you need.
Change your work schedule
If working on your own, or your job allows you to have a flexible work schedule, adapt it to your needs. The good idea is to start working early, to be able to leave early. If you start working at 7 a.m. for example, you will have two hours in which you will practically be “alone before the world” without interruptions of any kind. In this way, you can, for example, leave at 5:00 p.m. and better reconcile your work and family life.
If you work in your home, identify which is the schedule that best suits your work performance. Some people prefer to work at night, while others, as we have indicated before, need to get up very early to be able to perform at their best.
Resolve any questions before starting
Before starting to work on any project, you must have a very clear idea of what you have to do. It is not enough to have a vague idea of what is going to be required. Therefore, all the doubts, questions and questions that you need to clarify are better resolved before starting work.
It is true that during the course of your task new doubts may arise, but a specific doubt is not the same as being immersed in a sea of questions, which we will end up unsolved by shame to ask again.
Disconnect from the Internet
After email, the Internet is the biggest source of distractions that you can find in your work environment. Browse, visit social networks, check your Twitter account, read the latest news or review your feeds is stealing time from what really matters: finish your work and have more free time.
If you are before a project or a task that you can solve without using the Internet, do not think twice: pull the thread and disconnect from the Network. Doing so you will be ending a great source of distractions.
Take a break before losing Concentration
It is unavoidable. After a while working, our mind starts to escape, to think about things much more pleasant and gradually, we lose concentration, until there is a point where we really do not know what we are working on.
When we identify these moments, the best solution is not to insist on continuing to work. It is much more productive to stop working and take five minutes to disconnect. We can take a walk, have a tea or simply perform an exercise and breathing. In this way, in a few minutes, we will be ready to start again.
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