5 Simple Tips To Overcome Distractions At Work

This is part of a collection of short talks by Caroline Castrillon, Career and Life Coach and founder of Corporate Escape Artist. With everything going on in the world, it can be difficult to focus on work. In this talk, Caroline discusses five strategies for overcoming distractions so you can work smarter, stay focused and increase your productivity.

Transcript

Hi,

I'm Caroline Castrillon,

The founder of Corporate Escape Artist.

After 25 years of being stuck in corporate cubicles working for someone else,

I finally decided to launch my own business and become a career coach so I could help people like you get the most out of life at work.

And today we're going to talk about one of my favorite topics,

How to overcome distractions.

Let's face it,

We've all had those moments at work.

You're trying to focus on a big project and then BING!

You get a slack message from your coworker about a quote unquote urgent matter that needs your immediate attention.

Once that's under control,

You suddenly get a text from your son asking you to pick him up an hour early from school.

And then after a few minutes of finally getting refocused,

TING!

You get a Facebook message from a friend wondering if you'd like to meet up for coffee or happy hour one of these days.

Sound familiar?

And it's not just outside distractions like social media or the internet.

We've all had that experience where your mind just starts to wander and you find yourself taking what you think is going to be a short break to check your personal email or maybe do a little online shopping.

And that's a real thing by the way.

I recently came across a study where 77% of respondents said they shop online while on the clock at least once a week.

Now if you work from home,

Which is probably most of you out there at least part of the time,

It can be that much more challenging to stay focused with the kids,

Pets,

And maybe some home projects including dirty dishes and piled up laundry calling your name.

Not to mention the Amazon delivery driver ringing the doorbell or my personal favorite,

The next door neighbor who decides that now is the perfect time to mow the lawn,

Which just happens to coincide with your most important zoo meeting of the day.

I could go on and on with examples like these and I'm sure you could too.

Fortunately there are ways to overcome those inevitable distractions.

But it's not going to happen overnight and it's going to take some practice.

So if you're struggling to stay focused on work,

Here are five simple techniques to help you get back on track.

The first one is take frequent breaks.

Especially if you're a remote employee,

It can be easy to work too long without stopping.

That's why taking frequent breaks is so important.

Not only does working nonstop drain you,

But it also takes a physical toll.

Get in the habit of taking a short break every hour and then focus on a task that allows you to disconnect from your computer.

Take a short walk,

Stretch,

Or even go to the kitchen and make a healthy snack.

And when I say take a short walk,

I mean even a walk around the block.

You'll be surprised how short,

Frequent breaks can make you more productive.

And if you have to,

Schedule them on your calendar.

Even if it's just for yourself in 15 minute blocks and go from there.

My next tip is reward yourself.

If you're having trouble staying motivated,

Use a reward to help you focus on work.

For example,

You can promise yourself that you'll go on a Starbucks run as soon as you finish a presentation.

Or to stay inspired,

You can also give yourself something to look forward to at the end of the day.

Some examples could include rewarding yourself with your favorite podcast,

Watching a video,

Or taking a long hot bath.

Whatever gets you inspired.

Next,

Get outdoors.

If you can,

Take one of your breaks outdoors.

Going outside does wonders for your motivation levels.

Exposure to sunlight and fresh air is one of the most positive things you can do for your body.

In fact,

University of Michigan researchers found that 20 minutes in nature reduces stress and improves brain function.

Even looking at pictures of nature works if you're not able to actually get outside.

So go crazy with those screensavers.

Reward yourself with posters of waterfalls and natural wonders.

And if the weather permits,

You might even consider a workspace outside,

Whether it's on a balcony,

On a porch or in your yard.

Getting outdoors can also help you make the transition from work to family time.

So try going for a run or taking your dog for a walk at the end of the day.

It can go a long way in helping you decompress.

My next tip,

Declutter your office.

Not only will decluttering your office help you focus on work,

But it's also good for your mental and physical health.

A survey conducted by researchers at UCLA identified a direct link between the stress hormone cortisol and clutter.

And another study found that people with extremely cluttered homes are 77% more likely to be overweight.

Also,

Clutter doesn't just refer to physical items.

Non-essential software on your computer or old emails can be considered digital clutter.

So try organizing documents into folders and remove any unneeded files.

Review your email inbox and archive important emails so you can focus on the most critical messages.

And then finally,

Manage your energy.

The ability to manage your energy is crucial for maximum productivity.

So instead of using the principles of time management to organize your entire day,

Imagine organizing your tasks by your energy level.

Think about it.

We all have different internal rhythms.

Some of us are night owls like me,

While others are early birds.

When are you most focused and effective?

If it's early in the morning,

Schedule your major projects to align with that time frame.

One of the benefits of working from home is added flexibility.

So focus on what you can control and arrange your activities to take advantage of those natural high and low energy times.

Start becoming aware of those peak performance periods when you have the most energy to do your best work.

Try only using those periods for your most important projects.

Focus on managing your energy instead of your time.

And now I'm going to give you a bonus tip,

One that has made a big difference in my life.

Don't leave your email open all day.

Why?

Because email is one of the biggest time sucks in existence.

Not only that,

But the New York Times conducted research finding that checking email less often is healthy for us.

And another study found that office workers of all seniority levels spend more than 90 minutes a day just recovering from email interruptions and returning to their normal workload.

You see,

It's not just the act of reading and responding.

It's the interruption and spending that extra time getting back on track.

The key is to close the gap between necessity and compulsion.

And the first step is learning to let go.

So start by checking your email every three hours instead of every 15 minutes.

Don't feel like you need to respond or react to every email as it comes in.

You can batch multiple emails and write responses at once saving hours of time each week.

You can even schedule email responses for a future time and date.

This approach will make you proactive versus reactive and you'll find yourself actually saving huge chunks of time each day.

Remember that your ability to focus on work is like a muscle.

The more you exercise it,

The better it gets.

So while it may be a little tricky initially,

With practice,

You will be able to train your brain to overcome almost any distraction.