Focus on the Doing

Focus on the Doing

Know Your Triggers

The likelihood of being distracted is directly related to the amount of pull something has on our attention. Increased self-observation and deep introspection help you identify where your boundaries lie.

There are three cues that you need to either set boundaries for or to raise your awareness when your boundaries slip:

Discomfort

Resentment

Guilt

You can’t always avoid every single distraction, but if you’re aware of your weaknesses, you have a better chance of putting the right systems in place to reduce exposure to distractions.

The first step in setting boundaries is knowing your triggers and limits – are they mental, emotional, physical, or spiritual?

Once you identify your triggers, you can set healthy boundaries to give you room to do what you want to focus on. Boundaries serve as the framework to focus your efforts and harness your energy so that you can do your best work.

Keep in mind that your limits are your own, so it’s likely to be different than the limits of others.

Our inability to set boundaries results from our fear of offending those around us. However, you have little to no obligation beyond your own guilt to be immediately available to everyone all the time. Once you set boundaries, stand by them.

Eliminate Digital Distractions

If you’re like most workers, you don’t spend all of your hours at work doing actual work. Be honest. During those perceived lulls at work, the temptation to surf the internet or double-check your notifications can be strong. Remove all digital distractions and reward yourself later.

Email Usage

Emails can be extremely distracting. Keeping our email open makes us think we are more connected to others. However, checking our emails often is unnecessary.

The average professional spends 28% of their workday checking emails and responding to emails.[2]

If there is an urgent matter, email would not be the first method of contact for you. People will call you instead.

What can you do to resist constantly checking your email?

Phone Use

Not all calls are about your apartment being burglarized or a loved one in a precarious situation. So turn off your mobile phone or put it on silent mode during hours when you need all your attention on your work. You can also opt to activate the voicemail service.

You could also request your workmates to inform your callers you will get back to them later instead of always tapping your back or shouting out that you’ve got a call at any time.

Once you’re done with work, call back the earlier callers and explain your situation briefly. In the next two minutes, ask about their concern, note it down and tell them you’d call them back for their needed action. Prepare and write all their needed details, bearing in mind their possible follow-up thoughts on the matter. Then, call them back and always limit the phone conversation to less than three minutes.

BE “INVISIBLE”

You can also set your instant messaging status to indicate you are “busy” or stay “invisible” while you work to remain focused on a task. If you still get IMs, just turn off the notification or program. Turn it on later when your current task is not as pressing.

Social Media

It’s usually hard to stay focused at work because something new, interesting, and perky always comes with most social networking sites. Not only will it defeat your purpose of staying focused at work, but there’s plenty of information there that could get your mind unnecessarily perturbed – like a friend’s status about her heartbreak or someone from work getting a raise.

Discipline yourself to log in only when you have extra minutes free. This will help you