How To Avoid Distractions That Sabotage Your Productivity
We all have the same number of hours in a day, yet sometimes it feels like we can’t get enough work done. Be it a freelancer working from home, a full-time employee working the 9 to 5 job, or a remote team member working flexible hours – everyone is prone to distractions that sabotage productivity and slow us down.
One of the best ways to deal with distractions is using a time clock software to track your time. It is a tool that provides detailed analysis of how much time you spend on a particular task. By helping you monitor your time, a time clock software makes you aware of all the distractions that negatively impact your performance.
We have listed below other effective ideas to help you avoid the most common distractions that are responsible for sabotaging your work and productivity :
Stop checking your smartphone notifications:
One of the most prominent distractions is the notifications buzzing through our phone. A smartphone makes our lives easier and provides access to everything around the globe in an instant. This is also the reason it is so addictive and distracting. To tackle this, put your phone on silent when you work in order to focus better. Decide on a certain section of work and once you have finished that, take a fixed break to check your phone.
Dedicate time for social media:
Undoubtedly, the biggest time waster in these modern times is the multiple social media platforms. It is a huge distraction that often leads to black hole browsing and before you know, a good part of an hour is wasted. Even though it is mindless, it ends up distracting you a lot and it takes you time to get back on track after that. To avoid wasting your time, strictly avoid checking social media and dedicate a slot to indulge in it only once per day at work.
Create an organized workstation:
A cluttered work space is a major distraction that cripples your productivity without you even realizing it. It leads to a lot of wastage of time when you struggle to find an important file on your desk if it’s not well organized. Also, a cluttered workstation can induce stress and reduce your concentration levels. Keeping your desk clean and organized is visually calming and helps you avoid confusion.
Avoid multitasking:
Multi-tasking is often considered a desirable skill, but can be highly counter-productive in terms of distraction. In today’s day and age, we want to do everything at once and to pay equal attention to everything. But it is not possible to do that without compromising on quality. Not to forget that it leads to a lot of stress. However tempted you feel, avoid doing multiple things at one time as it highly reduces your efficiency.
Create detailed to-do lists:
Not knowing what you have lined up for the day can lead you to easily get distracted by unimportant stuff. You may spend an entire day doing low priority work being unaware of something urgent that needs your attention. It is highly recommended to make detailed to-do lists a day in advance so you can achieve the maximum possible output from a day. It gives you the opportunity to schedule important tasks in your most productive periods.
Conclusion:
There are multiple distractions sabotaging our productivity at work every day. No two people will be equally affected by a particular distraction. By implementing the above-mentioned ideas you can steadily work towards improving your focus and reduce giving attention to unhealthy activities. They will eventually have a profound impact on your overall productivity.
