Are you the type of person who is easily distracted throughout the day? These distractions can be anything from someone stopping by your desk to say hello, a neighbor speaking loudly to a client on the phone or someone texting you on your personal phone. As we all know these distractions can be a huge source of frustration and although you can’t completely rid yourself of them, there are ways of managing them.

Distraction #1: Your Environment – Are you too hot or too cold? Is it noisy in your work area? Is your desk a mess? All of these things may either support your focus or aid in distracting you from your work. If you know your office is kept at a cooler temperature than you feel comfortable in, bring a sweater to leave on your chair. Making small changes in your daily routine may significantly lessen the distractions that normally interrupt your workflow.

Distraction #2: Your Email – When you see the little notification pop up at the bottom of your screen indicating you have a new email, do you instantaneously check your inbox? It is a natural response to instantly reply to the message, but this can be a big distraction from the work you are currently working on. If you’re working on a big project, try changing the setting in your email to stop the notification box or sound.  You may be surprised at how much work you actually get done when you devote your whole attention to one project at a time.

Distraction #3: Outside Distractions –Is your desk near a window that allows you to see cars, people and other outside stimuli?  It’s not necessarily a bad thing to have this sort of distraction throughout the day, however if it is affecting your performance level you should consider closing the blinds  or putting up curtains if you need to.

Distraction #4: Co-Workers – This is one of the hardest distractions to prevent. Do your best to try to avoid getting stuck in excessively long conversations about your weekend or ‘water cooler’ chat by letting your co-worker know you’re working on a time-sensitive project and suggest catching up during lunch or later on in the day.

Try keeping a ‘time management log’ to see how much time you’re spending on each task throughout the day. Being aware of the time you’re wasting is the first step in avoiding distractions!

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