Last week I was working with a team on time management skills. We began by looking at a list of common barriers to good time management. Each participant reviewed the list and chose the barrier that they thought was the biggest threat to using their time productively. By far the most common barrier was DISTRACTIONS!
According to research from McKinsey, the average employee gets interrupted 50-60 times a day with emails, texts, phone calls, drop in visitors, sports scores, stock market updates, and “click bait” just to name a few. Expert’s say if we can get focused and stay focused, we can double our productivity (Assuming we are working from written goals)
A couple of years ago, I did an experiment. I had a large report to put together that included 18 separate assessments. Just for fun, I worked on one of the assessment without interruption, and measured the time. I then took this time and multiplied it by 17. (The number of remaining assessments) I took that projected time and made it a goal. I stayed focused, allowed no interruptions, and completed the project in 1/2 day. Normally it would have taken me a full work day. By not allowing distractions, I was able to get into the “flow state” and stay there without my thoughts straying.
I often hear people say, “I’m working more now that I was 10 years ago”. We may be spending more time at work, but are we getting more work done? If we want to double our productivity by greatly reducing distractions, here is what we can do:
Plan you work.
Categorize and prioritize your tasks and activities.
Work on one thing at a time in order of its importance. Stay focused.
Put an “I” sign on your back indicating you are in focus time.
