Are other people driving you to distraction?
Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash
This is the second in the 3-part series about handling distractions. Last week, we talked about how we can minimize distractions that originate with our technology. Today, we’re going to tackle another big source of distractions: other people!
Whether it’s that coworker that doesn’t have an inside voice, your new hire who needs a lot of extra help, or the simple fact that you work in an open office where people walk by your desk, or chat on the phone, all day, other people can pose a big risk when it comes to getting distracted.
And why is minimizing distractions so important? If you’ll remember from last week, studies show that when we are distracted or interrupted, it takes us, on average, 23 minutes to regain focus (23 minutes!) and that we are interrupted or distracted every 11 minutes. This means office workers spend up to 1/3 of their workday recovering from distractions. Imagine if you had an extra third of your work day back every day…to actually work!
One thing we know is that we don’t get to control other people. But there ARE some things we can do to set ourselves up for success to minimize the frequency of other people being the source of our distractions:
Wear headphones! (Even if you aren’t listening to anything at all; headphones are the universal signal for “don’t bother me”.)
Update your status to “Do Not Disturb” on messaging/voicemail systems to let people know when you are head’s down and need to focus.
Put a sign on your office door (or at your desk or cube) to let people know you are head’s down, and when you’ll resurface.
If you have an office, shut the door when you need to focus.
If you work in an open office, find a secluded spot in the office and/or face a wall when you need to focus.
Talk to your team about setting up communication norms. (How quickly are people expected to answer Slacks and emails? Should your team instate a “no meeting day”? Through which communication channels should emergencies be discussed?, etc.)
Ask your manager if you can work from home one day a week (or just when necessary if you need to be head’s down on the big project).
This week try out just 1 of the strategies above, and let me know how it goes!
And stay tuned for next week, when we’ll be talking about how to minimize distractions coming from ourselves!