How to stay focused and increase productivity

Distractions are everywhere, and while you might believe you are the world’s greatest multitasker, our work quality suffers when we get interrupted. Infact it takes 23 minutes to refocus after one interruption. While we cannot avoid distractions, measures can be put in place to reduce our exposure and potential to become distracted.

Try these 8 tactics to work smarter, faster, more productively and deliver a higher quality of work.

• Know when your mind wanders; for one week keep a record of where you spend your time and when you are more susceptible to distractions. When the week is over review your findings; Are you more productive in the morning or afternoon?
  When are you easily distracted? Before lunch, after lunch, early morning, late afternoon?
  When do you struggle to focus? Is it at a particular time, or in a particular situation or location? What distracts you? Your phone? Temptation to check emails? Colleagues?
• Time chunking; Use your calendar effectively to support with productivity. Block out set amounts of time in your diary to work on specific tasks or projects and treat it as you would any other meeting – try not to reschedule, cancel or busy yourself with other actions during this time.
• Disconnect; shut down emails, turn off notifications and close web browsers at specific times during the day or when you are working on particular tasks.
• Avoid the email trap; not all emails are urgent but they are a notoriously quick way to lose focus. Reacting to the ping of your inbox can, at times, make you feel like you are getting things done when you are actually generating more work before you even start on your to-do list. Instead, check your emails three times a day for a set amount of time and then shut them down until you have your next scheduled check.
• Kick start focus; we have all experienced that moment of panic when we review our to-do list or project plan and it seems so overwhelming that we do not know where to start. Rather than tackle it as a whole, break it down into smaller more manageable steps to help kick start engagement and focus.
• Reward yourself; Focus is a discipline that takes practice to master and when successful requires reward. At the end of a focused period, set allocated time to do something you enjoy, go out for a short walk, grab a coffee, have a chat or check your phone.
• Get ahead; it is easy to be distracted when you are unclear on where to start, instead enter a new day with a clear plan by taking 10-15 minutes at the end of each day to set your focus for the next.
• White noise, no noise, any noise; find what works best for you. We all have a preferred way of working to help with focus. If you are someone who enjoys music while working find a playlist that lasts around 50 minutes and make a note of what you will complete before you reach the end. If you prefer no music, putting your headphones in can still help by reducing the chance of someone distracting you. If headphones are not an option find a quiet space and make it clear you are working on something that requires your full attention.

Related solutions

Time is something you can manage, just like any other precious and finite resource. It takes a special kind of attitude to make the most of time, to be efficient as well as effective in using it judiciously and with a plan in mind. The good news is that time management is a skill, it can be learned and applied in a very practical way that most people can easily adopt and adapt to their own ways of working.

Having identified the importance of time management to the business, MacTay’s flagship, typically delivered as a 2 day workshop, to help address work-life balance, take control of your energy levels, reduce stress and achieve desired results by using skills and applying practical techniques in your daily work and life.

Contact us today for more information on our Time Management programme or find out more about Time Management.