Staying Focused: 6 Tips on Reducing Distractions During the Workday
Distractions are common and hard to resist. Staying focused during the workday can be a tall task and some days it may even seem impossible. With social media and search engines literally in the palm of our hands, they can be hard to resist, especially when you convince yourself that taking a 10 minute break to surf the web will help improve your productivity.
While we can vouch that short breaks here and there will help improve your productivity, the bottom line is that it is important to stay on tasks. Your to-do list is not going to cross things off by itself. With distractions so tempting and easily accessible, so much time can get wasted and before you know it – half the workday has gone by!
Half the battle is resisting distractions. The other half is learning how to properly focus. Staying focused is a tool that many of us weren’t ever taught, we were just told to do by authority but never told how to do it. Well, all of that is about to change. Read on for six effective tips on staying focused in the workday –
1. Set Goals For Yourself
This is where that handy to-do list comes into play. It’s important to set goals for yourself and keep track of them. Physically writing down what you need to accomplish helps keep you accountable and makes you more aware of your tasks.
Whether you choose to pen and paper it or type out your goals on your virtual calendar, few things feel better than crossing them off the list at the end of the day and knowing you stay on task well enough to accomplish your goals.
2. Choose the Right Work Environment
One of the many reasons business professionals love a coworking space is that there are endless work environments that increase productivity. Maybe you are getting distracted by your coworkers constant phone calls or by the stunning view from your office window. No problem – walk on over to an acoustically enhanced phone booth or to a common area that’s quiet enough and cozy enough to get your work done.
Sometimes even mixing up where you work can help deter distractions. You aren’t staring at the same four walls all day and feeling helplessly bored. By changing up your environment within your flexible workspace, you are beating your distractions and enticing your mindset.
3. Take it One Task at a Time
Don’t overwhelm yourself. This is where many people go wrong.
By overextending yourself and taking on too many projects at once, your mind gets overwhelmed and screams for help. So, be realistic and focus in on one project at a time. If you feel like the project you’re working on is too tall of a task for you, try breaking it down into sections and working on each part a little bit each day. Take everything in strides, and strides that work for you. Not everyone goes at the same pace and that’s okay!
4. Remove External Distractions
For some of us, we just get too tempted. If that’s you, hey don’t be ashamed! Embrace who you are and be proud that you know your limits. Take control of your distracted tendencies and simply remove them from your workspace.
If you’re trying to stay focused, but your cell phone is calling to you – try putting it on silent or storing it away in your backpack for an hour. Create boundaries for yourself and make them realistic. No one expects you to go all day without checking your phone, but setting it aside for an hour or two might make a world of difference in your productivity.
5. Take Controlled Breaks
Just like no one expects you to go the whole day without looking at your phone, no one expects you to go the whole day without taking a break. Breaks aren’t necessarily distractions. In fact, taking a healthy break can help with staying focused.
Try giving yourself a time limit on your break – maybe 10 minutes per hour – and grab a cup of coffee or enjoy some quiet time in a relaxation room. Giving your mindset a set time to breathe can help you concentrate on your day and not get so overwhelmed.
6. Practice Time Management
We’ve all heard the saying “why do today, what you can put off until tomorrow” and yikes does that sound like a recipe for disaster.
Time management is everything. Staying on top of your work and executing your tasks in a timely manner is important when trying to eliminate distractions. If you tell yourself, “I can push this back until tomorrow” you are creating space for distractions and giving yourself reasons that devalue your time.
Stay on top of your tasks and keep yourself accountable for the schedule in which you accomplish them.
Staying focused is not always easy. Staying focused is not always fun. But staying focused could ensure a productive workday and a fruitful career longterm. Take it one day at a time and try implementing these helpful tips into your workday. It might surprise you on how productive you become and how quickly tasks will fly off of your to-do list.
