How To Reduce Distractions

Distractions come in many forms and are different for individual people. For example, I often wear headphones and sing while I work which drives my husband nuts since he finds it difficult to work in an environment with any noise. Distraction can cause interruption to your concentration and reduce productivity and performance. It is therefore worthwhile examining the different types of distractions that happen when you work and consider how to minimise them. This will improve your performance and productivity. When you plan your time usage for the day you are more likely to be able to stick to it and work with heightened efficiency.

The first consideration should be the environment in which you are working. When working from home there are obvious distractions like the television. Ensure that the television is turned off and that the telephone is unplugged. Turn off your mobile phone so text message alerts cannot be heard. Do not attempt to work in the same room as your three young children play in. Find a quiet place in the house such as a bedroom or if you are lucky enough to have the space, a small study.

If you work in the office, consider the position of your desk. Are you right by the office doors with people coming and going all day? Are you near the kitchen or water cooler where people go to take breaks and chat? If you find that the physical distractions are too much in your office environment then talk to your office manager and HR people about resolving the situation. They will want you to feel able to work to the best of your ability.

One of the major distractions people suffer at work is other colleagues. It may be that people are constantly interrupting you with queries or requests. When this is the case, ask people to send their requests via email and put aside half an hour each day to reply to them. People feel they can get immediate answers if they see you face to face. If you continue to give them answers in this way then they will continue to interrupt you.

Another way people are a distraction is when they have annoying habits. I once worked with someone who constantly talked to himself while he worked. You should not feel embarrassed about discussing such things with them. They may not even realise they are doing it. Make sure that you are not rude, but quietly suggest that while you found it amusing at first, it is becoming a distraction for you. Nobody in an office would want to be the cause of someone else not working.

Technology has provided us with distractions from work. Ensure that all email alerts are turned off so that you do not have constant pop ups. I find it difficult not to read an email if I know it is there and this can lead to unscheduled stops to reply or think about other topics. Arrange to have a decent Spam filter installed on your computer so you are not distracted with irrelevant emails. You could be really sneaky and place an 'out of office' alert to suggest you are completely unavailable for an allotted time. This will stop people emailing you or interrupting you for a while giving you time to concentrate on a particular important task.

When I worked from home and had unappealing tasks to begin, I found procrastination was a grave danger to the work. If there were home tasks to do I would be tempted to put off beginning them until everything was completed. I couldn't concentrate knowing there were other things to do. Make sure that if you are working from home you have everything clean and tidy the night before so you do not waste time during your working day.

It is generally a good idea to reduce the amount of clutter regardless of where you work. If your working environment is disorganised then you may find you will not be able to concentrate easily. Piles of files suggest many things that are calling out for your attention. Things you need will be difficult to find and this will lead to distractions. Create a to-do list and put everything away in an orderly fashion so you can find it easily as you work through the list.

When considering distractions, walk about your working environment and look for things that distract you. Think about and analyse the distractions you have on a daily basis so you can consider the solutions. In my experience a good way to avoid distractions is to work when other people are not. If I have something I really need to concentrate on then I come into the office an hour earlier. The office is empty and quiet, which allows greater concentration. This is not always the case if I stay late as other people often have the same idea.

If you find it helpful and regular office hours are not important to your job then you could ask your manager if you could regularly start earlier and leave earlier. This will allow you to get more done and since you can leave earlier it will feel like you have an extra bit of bonus time in the evening.