Productivity Hack #2: Reduce Distractions

Written by Kevin Tyler Smith. You can follow me on Twitter or Facebook

There are very few things which block productivity as fast and as surely as distractions.  When you are unable to concentrate and focus properly, it is practically impossible to get things done.  Even if you do accomplish something, it can feel stressful and frustrating.

Whether you are on the 9 to 5 job, your home business or at school, reducing the distractions which influence your ability to be productive will help you to get more done.

There are two key points which you should keep in mind when you are planning to reduce the distractions in your environment.

The first point is what works for you and what works for someone else may be entirely different.  The second point is unless you have examined your habits, you may not be one hundred percent certain about the routines that are the most effective for you.

The good news is it does not require much time or effort to consider how your habits are affecting your productivity, and begin to adjust them accordingly.

Multi-tasking has become the standard nomenclature in our vocabulary today. Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you are quite well aware of how easy it is to be judged by how many tasks you can handle simultaneously. Now in your “sphere of doing”, there may be a number of things which you need to accomplish in one day and you may be busting your freakin’ ass trying to get them done concurrently.

But, keep this in mind:

If you overdo multi-tasking, there can be two troubling consequences:

• You might not get everything done and/or
• You might spread yourself too thin and not have satisfactory results

And the jury is still out on whether or not mult-tasking is really an act of being productive.

But…But…What About Distractions?

The same can be said about distractions. Attempting to do a job and to do it correctly and well will not net satisfactory results if distractions are allowed to get in the way.

For example, working while listening to music, watching television, or chatting on the phone are not limited to teens.  Many adults do these things in their home offices, and even in an office which is occupied by other people.  Perhaps all of this peripheral clutter may help your concentration but they can just as easily ruin your concentration, and distract you from what you are doing.

Becoming more productive takes a little analyzing of your habits.  Try turning off some or all of these distractions and see if you are better able to focus on the task at hand. You may find that you can get the job done better, faster, and more effectively, without any distractions at all.  On the other hand, you may find that one of these factors actually does aid in your concentration and focus.

While finding whatever works for you is easy if you work on your own, it can be a little more complicated if you work with others.  You may find that co-workers who constantly use their phones, visit, or play their radios near your workspace, distract you from focusing on your job. Heck, you may feel this is grounds for poppin’ them right in the “kisser”. Instead, I suggest you kill them with kindness. If you approach them politely, this may be all it takes to reduce the distractions so you can concentrate on your job.

I encourage you to arm yourself with some good background knowledge on how to deal with an annoying co-worker in a manner that is tactful and non-confrontational right here. You just may be thankful you did.

Productivity Hack:

#1: Set A Game Plan

Editor’s note: Zen To Done is one of the best resources I’ve ever seen in regards to cultivating productivity.

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*photo credit: H.Wang