When working alone, and with no one keeping an eye on us, it’s sometimes difficult to stay on task. As much as we try, sometimes our attention wanders. Then there are the distractions all around us. Here’s a few of the most common distractions to watch out for and what you can do to deal with them.
1. Email
- Turn off that new message alert. It’s just too tempting to see what’s just come in.
- Keep your email program closed until you’re ready to process your inbox. Then go through your emails quickly as suggested in Prevail over Email until you’ve responded to the 2-minute ones and scheduled the more complex ones. You won’t have a huge list sitting in your inbox that you have to scroll through over and over to remind yourself what you need to do.
2. Telephone
- Don’t feel you have to answer every call right when it comes in. Give yourself some uninterrupted work time each day while your voicemail takes message.
- Watch your Caller ID if there are some callers who merit your immediate attention
- Set aside short blocks of time to return whatever calls have come into voicemail.
3. Paper
- Process incoming paper promptly or you’ll find yourself repeatedly looking through stacks to find what you’re looking for. Get papers assigned to folders in your current projects or tickler file ASAP.
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