Say No to Distractions
Distractions are on the rise and attention is one of our Superpowers. The truth is that so much of what distracts us most consistently (at work and after hours) are modes of communication for our jobs.
Below are a few strategies to set boundaries around distractions and be in better control of focus throughout the day;
Turn off Notifications - Consider turning off notifications from your computer and phone. Try it for an hour or two at a time, especially when you’re working on a project requiring focus and brainpower. You can turn on/off notification settings for any communication tool (i.e. phone, email, chat, Slack, etc.).
Check Email at Predetermined Times - Do you have a tab open for email throughout the day? I know I used to. When email is open, we expose ourselves to non-time sensitive distractions. Checking email every couple hours (or 1-3x per day) means we’re more in control of the trajectory of our day.
Remove Work Email/Chat from Phone - Consider setting communication boundaries for yourself by eliminating the ability to check work email/chat/Slack on your phone. Not ready to fully de-commit? Try deleting the apps from your phone one week out of each month just to switch things up.
Remove Multitasking & Schedule Focus Time - When our attention is diverted to multitask, it takes precious time and energy to refocus. A one hour task can be stretched across an entire day or two. Schedule time blocks on your calendar that are dedicated to truly focusing— turn off notification and distractions and rejoice in how much you get accomplished.
Want more? Read Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World
Question: What’s one communication boundary you can set for yourself that will help you be more focused and in control throughout the day?
Action: …Do that one thing, or maybe two ⬆️ …
💜 a good quote…
“One way to boost our will power and focus is to manage our distractions instead of letting them manage us.” – Daniel Goleman
“Stop letting other people hijack your day.” – Frank Sonnenberg
“…you’ll become known as someone who responds promptly to email, so more people will consider it worth their while to message you to begin with. (By contrast, negligent emailers frequently find that forgetting to reply ends up saving them time: people find alternative solutions to the problems they were nagging you to solve, or the looming crisis they were emailing about never materializes.) So it’s not simply that you never get through your email; it’s that the process of “getting through your email” actually generates more email.” - Oliver Burkeman, Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals
