Recognizing and preventing distractions in the office

IT’S NOT JUST THE INTERNET!

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It’s not how long you spend in the office… it’s what you get done.

We recognized 4 principal areas of office distraction

People

Sights

Environment

Things

1. People

• Chatty co-worker/loud headphones• Constant questions• Loud phone voice• Family

2. Things

• Cluttered desk/computer/inbox• Internet• IM/SMS• Your chair

3. Sights

• Overstimulating/dull office • The view

4. Environment

• Heating/air conditioning• Lighting

Others?

• Meetings• Digital file organization• Not taking breaks

How to deal with people

Boundaries: choose spaces in the day when people are allowed to approach you – enforce this firmly and eventually people will learn. Set up a calendar where they can book your time. Make exceptions for questions that need answering immediately.

Tools:• WorkTimer (track the time you need to get your

work done)• Google Calendar (works online and offline)

Noise-eliminating headphones

Here’s a list of the best noise-cancelling headphones

Positive reinforcement:

politely but firmly (and consistently) ask noisy people to take the conversation elsewhere/lower the phone voice – they will also eventually learn to do this independently.

How to deal with things

Cluttered desk/inbox:

choose an hour on Friday afternoon or Monday morning to dedicate to organizing your files (both real and virtual) and archiving unimportant email.

Tools: • Mailbox (for smartphone)• Mailstrom (for desktop)

Internet: use an app that blocks you from accessing

recreational sites during specified times

Tools: StayFocusd (block website access)

IM/SMS:

turn off notification noises and mark yourself as “busy” or “invisible”. If you have set up the previous steps correctly then there should be no reason to be on IM or SMS unless on a collaborative project or a remote team

Tools:• AwayFind (for priority messages)

Chair:

being uncomfortable is distracting and unhealthy. Here’s a list of great chairs. Check with your superior, HR or company policy to see how to get a good chair for all those hours in front of the computer.

How to deal with sights

Great/terrible view:

If you have a particularly miserable view of the city, put up some yellow or orange blinds – the light coming through will feel like warm sunshine. You might want to do the same for an awesome view – it can be equally distracting!

Boring office:

liven up a dull office space with low-maintenance big plants and a few posters

Image credit

Sad desk:

personalize your workspace without cluttering it or creating too much visual stimulation. Take some tips from Fast Company on what NOT to do. Have at least one thing around that makes you happy to see.

How to deal with the environment

22 – 25 Celsius (72 – 77 Fahrenheit) is optimal

Let in fresh air a few times a day (weather depending!)

Replace flickering lights, lights that are too low or at angles that cause glare (here‘s a guide to the hazards of poor lighting at work)

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Meetings…

For managers out there: invite people who need

to contribute. Everyone else can get a memo.

Digital organization…

Habits: label and store as you go; make document titles obvious

Tools:

Twoodo (task management and teamwork)LastPass (password management)Google Drive (file storage and collaborative editing)

Image credit

A solution like Twoodo can simplify what you need to get done by eliminating the

need for multiple tools like email, IM, notetaking and task lists.

Take breaks90 minute stints are

a good rule of thumb

The original article for this slideshare appeared on Lifehack

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