How to stop distractions in the workplace: 6 effective ways

What causes distractions from work? Here is a short article on how to get rid of Internet addiction and multitasking.

In an ever-changing world, it’s not easy to stay focused on your tasks. Being under the attack of electronic messages, calls, questions of colleagues, it is extremely difficult to cope with all that is entrusted.

Edward Hallowell, a leading expert in attention deficit disorder (ADD), author of the new book Distraction Factors at Work: How to Concentrate and Be More Productive . He says that we spend 20 minutes every hour trying to cope with unplanned distractions. “Thank” for this you need new technologies, which influenced it.
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“If earlier ordinary letters came 1-2 times a day, now e-mails come 1-2 times per second,” Hollowell said. "We have destroyed the boundaries of privacy and made ourselves available 24 hours 7 days a week."

For 30 years, Hollowwell treated patients suffering from ADD and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) - neurological disorders caused by low concentration and hyperactivity. About 10 years ago, he noted an increase in the number of adults who believe that they have ADD, but the survey did not reveal any organic attention disorders. Hollowell called it the condition of "Especially attention deficit," a characteristic that concerns many of us, caused by a large number of demands and irritants, but lacking a neurological basis. “ADD is being treated,” Hollowell noted, “and first you need to figure out the reason for this behavior.”

Hollowwell notes the 6 main distractions that we face at work:

1. Sticking to the screen

Hollowwell formulated the term “sticking to the screen” to describe the effect of the “dummy” of the Internet. As soon as we feel the first “urges” of boredom and frustration, we immediately go out into the global network. “People go online and actually do nothing important, they just stick to the screen,” he notes.

The best way to avoid this is to divide your day into periods of focusing on the most important work and into periods of interaction with potential irritants, such as e-mail, social networks. It should also be possible to break away from the screen, especially if you work with things that require maximum attention. Turning off the phone and the Internet at such times will help to be more productive by defeating the desire to “stick” to the global network.
“There’s something mysterious in the unread messages,” Hollowell said. “If you have heard the message or saw the icon, you will want to familiarize yourself with the content, even if the chances of its usefulness are minimal.”

2. Multitasking

One of the popular myths of our generation is that multitasking is a key solution to lack of time. “From the point of view of neurology, it is impossible to pay attention to two tasks requiring attention at the same time,” said Holowell. This means that if you are on the phone with a client and are reading a colleague's message, the attention of the brain shifts towards the e-mail, and the mind cannot cover both tasks at the same time.

Hollowell believes that multitasking is a direct path to mediocrity. As long as you do 2 things at the same time, none of them will be done well. Thus, e-mail reading cannot be complete, and the conversation is productive while you are multitasking.

"You definitely can not demonstrate high performance, following multitasking," - says Holowell. However, the expert agrees that multitasking is sometimes necessary, for example, this concerns making entries during a meeting. He says that we need to be aware of the need to distribute attention to both tasks, and consciously sacrifice the level of productivity for the sake of doing both things at the same time.

3. Jumping from idea to idea

If you start your day off with a long list of current affairs, then at some point you notice that you are jumping from one thought to another. When things are going really bad, you realize that by taking a little of each task, you have not completed any. Prioritization is a cure for disorderly thought.

Another way is to write down ideas when they come to mind. Thinking about plans for lunch during the meeting? Spend a second to write it down, and then re-focus on the topic of discussion. “Once the recording is done, it will be easier for the brain to let go of the idea,” Hollowell noted.

4. Anxiety

“After the September 11 attacks, the whole nation has a post-traumatic syndrome,” says Holowell. The spread of bad news made us less calm than before. The rapid increase in negative news on the Internet is one of the paradoxes in which constant communication has made people more disconnected.

“Loneliness makes us more vulnerable to anxiety, because when we are alone, we worry more,” says Holowell. Stressful environment can knock out rut. The best thing in this situation is not to be alone with your experiences.

"Even a minute conversation with someone will allow anxiety to fade into the background," Hollowell said. Understand that meeting with people close to you is a sure way to drive away oppressive thoughts. This is better than diving into gloomy thoughts at work.

5. Playing the hero

Have you ever noticed that you take on the work for which other people are responsible, or do for others more than they do for you? This is typical for employees who usually work more and better than anyone else - they are the ones who face this problem. But by helping one colleague, you can start working for everyone, which inevitably distracts you from your own duties.

“It's like putting on an oxygen mask first on yourself and then on the baby,” says Holowell. “For the team, too, there will be no benefit if you burn out. If you understand that you are taking on too much, then it's time to reconsider your priorities. ”

6. Throw the ball

Suppose you have tried all the tips, but still can not concentrate and persistently linger at work. Perhaps you do have ADD. Researchers claim that in the US, 5–20 million adults suffer from this disease.

Holowell recommends seeking professional help in this case. "Experts can dramatically change your working and personal life for the better," he notes.

PS Another article is related to this topic - The secret about how to do everything on time. Recommended!

Translated by Vyacheslav Davidenko, founder of MBA Consult