Why do we let ourselves be distracted? Some disturbing fact and figures about time: during our working day we visit an average of fourty different websites. In the space of an hour we switch between the different programmes on our computer thirty-six time.We consume three times as much information as we did thirty years ago. We communicate more via the cloud - email, social media (HELLO!), on-line networks and forums etc. - than directly with people. and if we dont reply to an email within a few hours or at the latest after a day, the sender gets angry - or forgets what they asked for in the first place! Every time we check our email or when we feel the familiar vibration of our phone in our pocket, we get a small dopamine rush in our brains. Over time this turns into an addiction, which results in us wanting this distraction more and more. So when were bored we interrupt ourselves, we have to refocus ourselves afterwards, which costs time and energy. Of course, these technological achievements also increase our efficiency at work; google maps improves our punctuality....in fact i used this today. Thanks to skype and email we can work from almost anywhere; and facebook (HELLO AGAIN) is a brilliant marketing tool. But when we look at our blackberry, we actually just give the impression of being productive. In fact we are distracting ourselves from work. We dont work more effectively with tech, we work faster. And more carelessly. We used to watch tv, today we watch our smart phone or tablet. Tips to reduce distractions: 1. Focus on outcomes: Decide what you want to achieve this month, week and day. Write notes on what you want/desire/deserve.. 2. Do not create a task list. They dont work. Once you have an outcome, reverse engineer it and write down the key actions, experiences, learning and decisions you must make to ensure it happens. 3. Give each an expected achievement date and stick to it. Add them into a time line. 4. Take time to reflect on your day. Stop being a doing stuff machine, a work horse if you like and be an outcome achiever. Look back and enjoy what happened and how you got there. 5. Be disciplined. dedicate certain times to certain activities. Emails for an our in the morning and and hour in the evening perhaps?
Posted on: Thu, 07 Nov 2013 14:36:45 +0000
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