Are you overwhelmed by the sheer number of emails that you receive every day? Between the job listings, Yahoo! Groups digests, mailing list dailies and updates from your favorite blogs (>cough<), do you feel stuck in the inbox quicksand?
Attention span of a fly? This list will help you get in the zone. Are you considering taking a sick day so that you can get some work done? Do you find your mind wandering as you scan through a spreadsheet or write a post for your blog? You're not alone. Knowing how to prevent interruptions and avoid distractions is important, but those considerations become secondary if you've mastered the art of staying in focus. Here's how to do just that.
Just like sleeping straight through the night is a challenge for many people, so too is finishing work without diversions. Here's what you can do to stay on course and finish what you start. 12 tips to take to heart 1) Deal with each annoyance separately. Too much noise where you're working? Move your work area, get the volume lowered (ask politely), use noise-canceling headphones or sound-isolating headphones. 2) Anticipate your bodily functions. Use the washroom before starting your next task, keep a glass of water handy in case you get thirsty, and have a box of tissues within reach if you're allergy-prone. 3) Reserve time for your distractions. That's why smoking breaks were invented.
How to get in focus fast. A 3-part series. Don't you hate it when you sit down to do something, you start getting really into it, you're perhaps even working something complicated out in your mind and then RRRING! the phone goes or BEEPOO! an email arrives or BOOWEEP! someone messages you or HEY! you're tapped on the shoulder...A few minutes later, you're finally back to what you were doing and then...and then you're thinking where was I? And those are just the interruptions you had in the past 20 minutes. Even worse is when no one gets in your way and you can concentrate except - oh look at that, I'll just check the headlines quickly - or - what time is it? I'd better call Kate/Ofer/Ming-li to see what we're doing tonight - or even, when around others - he doesn't need to yell into that phone, we don't all need to hear him.
I love the Internet. I hate boredom. In 2007, it has now been 13 years that I've been online and to be perfectly honest, I don't think that I've ever…
