You have a big project or deadline looming. You sit down and commit to getting right to work. You open the programs needed to get started and your phone rings… or your Facebook chimes… or someone comes in with a question.
Time and again your productivity seems to stall just as you get things going but what can you do about it? OK, maybe you close the internet but you actually need it for research on this project. You know that you could turn your cell phone off so you don’t get calls or texts but what if you miss that important call you didn’t know you’ve been waiting for?
Distraction is a productivity killer. It’s not even subtle about it. Rather than the slow acting poison of busy work that is really a low priority, distraction is more like the knife-welding masked villain attacking you face on. And, even though you have defenses within arms reach, you are too paralyzed by doubt and fear to even use them.
Dealing with distractions and regaining your productive flow is a two part process. Part 1 is learning good defensive tools. Part 2 is overcoming the paralysis so that you can USE them.
Part 1 – The Distraction Defense
The best defense is a good offense. Here are a few of the many tricks or hacks that will help you to design an effective offense so that distraction is avoided before it starts.
1. Boundaries – It is important to set boundaries on your attention. When you don’t set these boundaries, distractions can easily creep in and demand what you don’t really want to give. Set boundaries by turning off your phone, blocking social media sites and having a closed door policy. The hard part isn’t setting up the boundaries. The hard part will be sticking to them no matter what.
2. Limits – Set time limits on how long you will work on a task. By setting a limit, it gives you the comfort of knowing that you can check your phone or social media as soon as the allotted time has passed. When you set smaller limits, it’s easier to say no to the distractions and stay on task. Start with 20 to 30 minutes of uninterrupted time and reward yourself with 15 minutes of free time immediately following. Use a timer to facilitate this process and make it easier to manage.
3. Improve Willpower – How hard is it for you to resist that afternoon cookie or to skip the gym after work? The same “muscle” used to avoid those temptations is the same “muscle” used to avoid distractions. That “muscle” is our willpower. When you can strengthen your willpower muscle and focus on doing some of the harder work when the muscle is not yet exhausted, you will get much better results. For a great resource on developing your willpower, check out The Willpower Instinct by Kelly McGonigal.
Part 2 – Productivity Permission
One of the reasons you might already know these ways to avoid distractions and yet you still allow distractions to happen is because you haven’t given yourself permission. Without permission, you remain paralyzed by the doubt and fears that allow the distractions to creep in.
Permission is a conscious act. Once you acknowledge that you are creating these barriers for yourself, it becomes much easier to tear them down and build healthy ones instead.
Phones & Email
I’ve worked with many clients who swore to me that they could not turn off their cell phone for even 30 minutes at a time. The question I always ask them is, if you were at the hospital with a loved one who had just been admitted to ER, would you answer your phone? Without hesitation, they all tell me that they would not. When I ask them why not, they usually say that the person will leave a message or call back later and that their loved one is more important in that moment.
If you feel like you can’t silence emails and calls, do a bit of a reality check. You aren’t going to be unavailable indefinitely and the world does not end just because you didn’t answer your phone immediately. I promise. It will be OK.
Social Media
Allowing yourself to be distracted by social media is a form of procrastination. Usually you are avoiding the task for one of three reasons; you are bored, you don’t know how to get started, you are afraid of the results. These self-sabotaging efforts are enough to keep us stuck in paralysis for a very long time unless they are truly dealt with. For a few, though, it may just be the way your brain works. The first step, no matter what scenario you are in, is to just be aware that you are doing it and give yourself permission to stop. It won’t always be easy, but it is a good start.
If it were easy to overcome distractions, we would all be much more productive individuals. Taking a few small steps and integrating them into your workflow is a great place to start.