How to Stop Getting Distracted when Trying to Get Things Done
Identify the biggest culprits., Find a place to be alone., Wear headphones., Organize your workspace., Work offline., Limit the time you spend on email., Manage social interactions.
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Identify the biggest culprits.
The initial step towards staying on-task is figuring out what is making you deviate from your work in the first place.
Write down all the causes you can think of
- from your office setup to your social media notifications
- so that you know what needs to be addressed in order to get you back on track.Think about what exactly happens when you’re distracted.
It’s likely that there are multiple culprits.
For instance, it may be that you are drowsy due to lack of sleep or feel the need to constantly check your inbox and respond to emails.
Maybe you spend 20 minutes searching for a file that you need or are regularly interrupted by visits from coworkers. -
Step 2: Find a place to be alone.
If you really need to get something done, it’s probably easiest to eliminate the chance of any social distractions.
Find an empty office, classroom, conference room, or other quiet place to set up shop in.
If you’re able, working from home can also help give you the space you need to complete the task at hand., If you’re frequently distracted by noises, music, or conversations, try wearing noise-cancelling headphones so that you can tune them out.
This is a great option for people who work in busy offices with open floor plans.If music helps you work, you can also listen to it with headphones to help tune out distractions.
Just make sure that your soundtrack is motivating rather than distracting.
For example, many people find that instrumentals are better than songs with lyrics since the words can divert your attention away from the task at hand. , Limit your desktop to only the things that are required for what you’re immediately working on, so that there are no extraneous materials to distract you.
If your workspace tends to be cluttered, take time to come up with an organizational system to keep it clear.
For instance, you could create a filing system for papers and keep a tray for incoming work on your desk. , These days, emails, websites, social networks, and cell phones account for the majority of disruptions and distractions.
If you don’t need to use the internet or a particular device for the task at hand, turn them off.If you can, put your phone on silent mode.
Even if you have to keep it on most of time, consider carving out a phone-free hour or two each day in which you can completely focus on the task at hand.
If your willpower is not up to snuff, get a little help from an app.
Apps like Freedom, Anti Social, Cold Turkey, SelfControl, and Track Time will block you from using the internet or accessing specific sites for set amounts of time.Even if you need the internet for what you’re doing, you can limit its potential distractions by keeping your email closed, only using as many windows or tabs as you require, and blocking those websites that are the biggest distractions for you, like Twitter or Facebook. , Many of us rely on emails for important daily communications, but that doesn’t mean that you need to see every email as soon as it arrives.
Try to limit the number of times that you check your inbox throughout the day by scheduling set sessions to deal with emails.Even if your work requires you to regularly check your email or other forms of digital communications, you can still limit the time you spend attending to them.
Schedule a set time each hour or two when you will check your email, and don’t look at your inbox in-between.
If you can, it’s also a good idea to turn off your message alerts.
Keeping your inbox clear and well-organized will also make it easier to manage and therefore less distracting from other tasks.
Be sure to delete emails that you don’t need and archive the ones you want to keep in clearly labeled folders. , It’s great to chat with a fellow student or coworker during a break, but if people are constantly bombarding you, it can severely limit your productivity.
Be proactive about informing people when you’d like to left alone.The easiest way to do this is to establish signals for when you’re approachable and not.
For instance, if you have an office, you could tell people that they are free to stop in when the door is open but not when the door is closed.
If you’re working in an open space or floorplan, you can tell people that you would not like to be interrupted when you have your headphones on.
You can also encourage people to stay away from your workspace by taking away additional chairs that they could sit in or by standing up whenever someone interrupts you to silently communicate that they’re distracting you from your work. -
Step 3: Wear headphones.
-
Step 4: Organize your workspace.
-
Step 5: Work offline.
-
Step 6: Limit the time you spend on email.
-
Step 7: Manage social interactions.
Detailed Guide
The initial step towards staying on-task is figuring out what is making you deviate from your work in the first place.
Write down all the causes you can think of
- from your office setup to your social media notifications
- so that you know what needs to be addressed in order to get you back on track.Think about what exactly happens when you’re distracted.
It’s likely that there are multiple culprits.
For instance, it may be that you are drowsy due to lack of sleep or feel the need to constantly check your inbox and respond to emails.
Maybe you spend 20 minutes searching for a file that you need or are regularly interrupted by visits from coworkers.
If you really need to get something done, it’s probably easiest to eliminate the chance of any social distractions.
Find an empty office, classroom, conference room, or other quiet place to set up shop in.
If you’re able, working from home can also help give you the space you need to complete the task at hand., If you’re frequently distracted by noises, music, or conversations, try wearing noise-cancelling headphones so that you can tune them out.
This is a great option for people who work in busy offices with open floor plans.If music helps you work, you can also listen to it with headphones to help tune out distractions.
Just make sure that your soundtrack is motivating rather than distracting.
For example, many people find that instrumentals are better than songs with lyrics since the words can divert your attention away from the task at hand. , Limit your desktop to only the things that are required for what you’re immediately working on, so that there are no extraneous materials to distract you.
If your workspace tends to be cluttered, take time to come up with an organizational system to keep it clear.
For instance, you could create a filing system for papers and keep a tray for incoming work on your desk. , These days, emails, websites, social networks, and cell phones account for the majority of disruptions and distractions.
If you don’t need to use the internet or a particular device for the task at hand, turn them off.If you can, put your phone on silent mode.
Even if you have to keep it on most of time, consider carving out a phone-free hour or two each day in which you can completely focus on the task at hand.
If your willpower is not up to snuff, get a little help from an app.
Apps like Freedom, Anti Social, Cold Turkey, SelfControl, and Track Time will block you from using the internet or accessing specific sites for set amounts of time.Even if you need the internet for what you’re doing, you can limit its potential distractions by keeping your email closed, only using as many windows or tabs as you require, and blocking those websites that are the biggest distractions for you, like Twitter or Facebook. , Many of us rely on emails for important daily communications, but that doesn’t mean that you need to see every email as soon as it arrives.
Try to limit the number of times that you check your inbox throughout the day by scheduling set sessions to deal with emails.Even if your work requires you to regularly check your email or other forms of digital communications, you can still limit the time you spend attending to them.
Schedule a set time each hour or two when you will check your email, and don’t look at your inbox in-between.
If you can, it’s also a good idea to turn off your message alerts.
Keeping your inbox clear and well-organized will also make it easier to manage and therefore less distracting from other tasks.
Be sure to delete emails that you don’t need and archive the ones you want to keep in clearly labeled folders. , It’s great to chat with a fellow student or coworker during a break, but if people are constantly bombarding you, it can severely limit your productivity.
Be proactive about informing people when you’d like to left alone.The easiest way to do this is to establish signals for when you’re approachable and not.
For instance, if you have an office, you could tell people that they are free to stop in when the door is open but not when the door is closed.
If you’re working in an open space or floorplan, you can tell people that you would not like to be interrupted when you have your headphones on.
You can also encourage people to stay away from your workspace by taking away additional chairs that they could sit in or by standing up whenever someone interrupts you to silently communicate that they’re distracting you from your work.
About the Author
Nathan Jordan
Professional writer focused on creating easy-to-follow DIY projects tutorials.
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