In today's world, emails, Whatsapp, push notifications and open office space leads to a lot of distractions at work. An employee gets 50-60 interruptions at work and most of them are unimportant.
This constant distraction makes people more stressed (lack of control over workspace) and less productive.
How does one manage distractions
Practice asynchronous communication
Do away with the need to attend to arbitrary urgent requests.
To optimise your asynchronous message and avoid followup emails include the following in your mails
sufficient details, clear action items, due date and an alternate action if the deadlines are not met.
Batch check everything
Instead of checking things throughout the day, batch check emails, messages at predetermined times.
Do not disturb
Use a signalling mechanism to let your team know that they should not disturb you unless it is urgent. this is especially important in an open office.
Avoid open calendar
IN today's workplace with an open, shared calendar it is accepted that others can book time in our calendar, at the expense of your own priorities.
Mark out meeting-free time in your calendar or use an app that allows others to schedule meetings with you only during scheduled windows, leaving tie for you to focus on your work.
Close the loop on meetings
Ensure that every meeting ends with actionable steps, clearly assigned responsibilities and due dates.
Stop using "reply all"
Reply all add to unwanted chatter to the inbox. Only email people who need to be informed.
Use third space
If you are working in an open office, try and find a quiet corner in your office when you require undisturbed time or try and negotiate work from home time.
Turn off push notifications
On average, we receive 50 push notifications in a day. To avoid an immediate response turn off notifications when you need focus time.
This can be done by switching to "airplane" mode to limit the calls and messages you receive. You may also switch on "do not disturb" option on your mobile which filters out all calls and messages except your designated contacts.
Limit layers of approval
Strip away unnecessary layers of approval for trivial and not-so-significant things. this would mean less paperwork and fewer interruptions at work.
We tend to pick up the lowest hanging fruit first like checking on the email rather than working on the report or presentation. Becoming aware of our tendencies is the first step towards changing our behaviours.
This will help you get more work done and leave you less stressed and more fulfilled at the end of the day.
10 Quick Tips for Avoiding Distractions at Work
by Steve Glaveski HBR December 18, 2019
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