If you think the only work distraction are the people stopping by your desk, you should know that on average, people’s focus gets pulled away from a task every 3 minutes! When you are on a deadline or your task requires focus, these distractions are detrimental to the quality of your work. Just when you get on a roll, someone comes by your desk or your phone rings and you lose your train of thought. Here’s how to deal with disruptions at work and refocus your attention so that you can accomplish that to-do list.
What kinds of work disruptions are there?
Workplaces can be hectic, time-constrained, and demanding environments to try and focus your attention in. When you are constantly interrupted – how are you supposed to get anything done?
According to research at the University of California, it can take people up to 23 minutes to get back in the groove and refocus after being distracted. If we are distracted every 3 minutes, how do we have enough time in the day to get anything done?
This is a serious productivity issue, and although we can control some of the distractions, they are a reality of office life.
Interestingly, although we have a distraction every three minutes, it can be related to the same task, such as having to stop your focus and email a colleague for clarification. But, we will only spend about 11 minutes on average on a completing a certain task before we are fully interrupted and have to shift tasks completely.
This does not mean that the task is complete however. More that something occurred that required our full attention before we have to come back and switch mental gears….again. Interruptions lead people to change not only work rhythms but also strategies and mental states.
This can be stressful, especially when you are on a deadline.
The worst part – is we often do it to ourselves! Self-interruption is our overwhelming desire to read the email that just came (because we will always glance at the notification), check the notification on our phone, or get up to grab a snack from the vending machine.
How to handle virtual disruptions at work
A virtual distraction comes in the form of emails, group chat notifications, notifications from your devices, overhead broadcasts, it all adds up!
We are not as great at multitasking as we believe we are. Really, all we are doing is rapidly switching our brains between tasks.
What’s the best way to handle virtual disruptions at work?
1. Turn the notifications in your email off (don’t worry, you can create a rule to let your boss’ emails through)
The best way to control distractions is to limit their ability to disrupt you. So, if you no longer have email pop ups telling you to “look at me!” then you can keep your focus on the task at hand.
See a step by step guide to modifying your Microsoft outlook settings here.
2. Turn off your social media notifications
Let’s have an honest chat – you need to make sure that social media is not the best way to urgently contact you during the day. Keep the distraction of browsing and responses to break times by removing the urge by silencing notifications.
3. Turn your ringer down – or off- on your desk phone
Most phones in your office have the ability to be turned down so that they do not pull your attention when you are trying to focus on important tasks.
Silencing email notifications and turning your ringer off are not necessarily permanent ways to reduce virtual interruptions. It depends on your company culture. I work with someone who permanently has their phone ringer off, no one seems to care and just emails them instead. This staff member will respond to voicemails, but we have all learned that it is faster to get a hold of them via email instead.
No one is likely to notice that you turned your email notifications off, but this means that you have to stay on top of your email inbox. It’s a balance with how to deal with virtual disruptions at work.
People are everywhere! Dealing with people distractions
Your coworkers come by for coffee, then they come back for lunch, then they come by because they are having a terrible day and just need to talk about it.
Or worse, you work in an open concept office. The design of these are a hotbed of distraction! While the concept of ripping down the office walls that were symbols of corporate hierarchy was a nice thought, they didn’t think through the levels of distraction that would come with it!
While it is trendy in start up circles to have open concept, it does not always lead to good work. In fact, people withdraw more and email instead of talk – because they are tired of hearing their coworkers, and feel a sense of pressure to put on the appearance of “busy”.
So, how do you handle people distractions at work?
1. Go somewhere you are not easily found
If you need to focus, if people cannot easily find you, they cannot just drop by. Go to an empty conference room or an alternate space than your desk. If you have a door, close it.
2. Tell people no.
“Sorry, I can’t work on that right now.”
“Sorry, I have to get back to work.”
“If it’s a priority, I can work on it. But I won’t be able to get everything done on time.”
Lost on how to deal with disruptions at work? Practice flexing your “no” muscle. You do not have to disagreeable or obstinate. Just let people know that you are unable to socialize, jump tasks, or potentially take on additional assignments that are a priority.
3. Headphones/ noise cancelling headphones
You do not even need to necessarily have music playing. They work in two ways, they are a signal to others that you do not want to be bothered AND they cancel noise that is happening in the environment around you.
4. Control your urge to be the distraction yourself!
If you are guilty of getting up and going to chat with co-workers, it creates a signal that it’s OK for them to get up and go chat with you. Control the urge to go discuss things that are irrelevant for your current task and save it for break time together.
Want to increase productivity and decrease your stress at work? Learn some prioritization strategies so that you can let tasks go!
How to deal with disruptions at work – when you’re the leader
Leadership is a series of exercises in distractions, where you are constantly battling the need to refocus and recall what your train of thought was or task you were “just about to do”.
Remember, no one is asking for support because they want to pester you – you are a needed individual.
This often leaves us stressed because we have our own deadlines to meet, or our brains are frazzled because we are forcing our brains to rapidly switch back and forth while we multi-task.
1. Expect to be interrupted
As it turns out, accepting that you will be interrupted may be the way to up your efficiency. Because simply expecting to be distracted, rather than letting interruptions take us by surprise, lessens your internal lag.
2. Identify and prioritize tasks
At the beginning of your day, take a few minutes to recognize what you need to complete before you leave for the day. When you find your attention getting pulled away to tasks that do not contribute to completing your priority tasks, you can refocus on what your true priorities are.
3. You need breaks too!
We can only make so many decisions in a day before our brain hits a wall. Make sure you take mini breaks (see the Pomodoro method below).
Read more about decision making fatigue and how we can trick ourselves in to thinking we can “keep going” when we would likely do better work if we took a break.
Tips for getting refocused after distractions at work
Yes, we will expect to be distracted and try to eliminate as many disruptions as possible – but they will still happen. The real art is being able to get back on track and refocus – much faster than the average of 23 minutes mentioned above.
1. Break the task down in to manageable chunks
Nothing feels more overwhelming than a giant project with no plan of attack. Break the project down into separate steps and pieces. This way you can keep track of each part. Can’t remember what is happening to each moving part?
Keep track of the moving pieces by jotting down on something as easy as a sticky note. You can recall that your colleague is running some numbers for you OR, they have responded, you just need to get back to that email that came when you were working on something else.
It gives you peace of mind that you will be able to pick up the project when you are ready to work on it.
2. Before you fully respond to a new task, write down some anchor words
“Now…where was I?” How much time goes by before you remember your place after your attention has been pulled away?
Before you fully immerse in a different task, jot down a few key words on where your current train of thought is. This can jog your memory when you can refocus your attention.
3. Know when you do your best work
Know when you do your best focused thinking AND when you are least likely to be interrupted.
I do my best work in the mornings, but I know that after 930, it is distraction city. So, when I arrive at work at 8, that is when I start to focus on the difficult tasks for the day. Typically things start to wind down again after 3. There are sometimes some last minute things, but often times people are at their desk finishing up for the day.
4. Pomodoro Method
This time management technique promotes productivity by breaking down work in to short work intervals separated by mini breaks. You can customize your own work interval, but 25 minutes is popular.
It is called the Pomodoro (which is an Italian word for “tomato”) method after the tomato shaped egg timer that was used by the creator, Francesco Cirillo.
This technique is effective because you can completely focus on one task, instead of trying to multi-task (because we know how ineffective that is). The benefits of the Pomodoro method are:
- Create a manufactured deadline . This also creates a sense of urgency, because you only have 25 minutes!
- Avoid the perfectionism impulse of overly fine tuning or fixating on a task
- Complete higher quality and cohesive work because you were not multi-tasking
- Give yourself a mini break to recharge and then work until completion
- Focus on one task because you will be able to be engrossed in it without checking your inbox for 20 minutes.
- Cut down your stress levels because your to-do list will shrink!
Essentially, the workplace is full of opportunities for virtual and people distractions. When it comes down to how to deal with disruptions at work, planning does a long way. Although we can reduce the number of disruptions at work, we cannot eliminate them entirely. The real skill is learning how to refocus quickly after you have been disrupted. Practice these techniques so that you are a productivity champion!