015 - Are you distracted?
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We all get distracted daily. You find yourself ready for a productive day, your laptop ready, your work open and you’re motivated to start. You get an email or a message and check your phone. From checking a simple email some of us get sucked into an endless pool of Instagram feed, Twitter feed, TikTok and YouTube.
Given that distractions have the potential to derail our productivity so frequently, and for so long, it’s imperative that we deal with them ahead of time - before actually sitting down to do our work.
4 Types of distractions:
🌱 Annoying + no control
🌱 Annoying + can be controlled
🌱 Fun + No control
🌱 Fun + can be controlled
You can observe your normal day and fill out a grid with your distractions to know what you have no control over and what you can manage. It will help you sort things out in order to focus more.
❎ How to deal with distractions you can’t control
Realise that distractions have two places of origin - ourselves and others - and both are important to deal with ahead of time.
You can’t always prevent a distraction, but if you close your office/room door it will send a message to others saying that you are busy and shouldn’t be interrupted.
âś… How to deal with distractions you can control
Simply finish them before you start your productive day (if they are not time consuming). If it will be time consuming and energy-draining, then you can schedule a specific time for it and accomplish it as planned.
🧠There are two modes of work:
1- A distraction-free mode which should be used when you need a lot of focus.
2- A regular, reduced-distraction working mode. This mode allows a small number of distractors throughout the day.
Spending a portion of the day eliminating distractors will have benefits in the long run and form good habits of productivity.
Do you have any specific topic that you want to read about next week?
You can always make suggestions as I plan to make this newsletter as useful to you as possible. Feel free to contact me at scrubsandsutures@gmail.com or on twitter and I will try to tailor the next one for you.
That’s all for this week!
