In today's fast-paced world, staying focused and getting work done can feel like an uphill battle, especially with constant disruptions knocking on our doors.
Whether it's unexpected meetings, incessant emails, or the latest crisis demanding attention, maintaining productivity amidst the chaos is no easy feat.
But fear not, because in this blog post, we'll explore some effective strategies to help you avoid being constantly disrupted and actually get your work done.
Read MoreSON: "Daddy, may I ask you a question?"
DAD: "Yeah sure, what is it?"
SON: "Daddy, how much do you make an hour?"
DAD: "That's none of your business. Why do you ask such a thing?"
SON: "I just want to know. Please tell me, how much do you make an hour?"
DAD: "If you must know, I make $100 an hour."
SON: "Oh! (With his head down).
SON: "Daddy, may I please borrow $50?"
The father was furious.
Read MoreTime batching is a time management technique in which you group similar tasks together for focused work. During the allocated time, you work to complete all the tasks. If you want to get more done, with less distraction, consider batching your work.
How is this helpful?
For starters, by batching work you can do a lot of tasks that require similar processes all in one sequence. Things like responding to emails, completing forms, and doing research. The advantage is that you can get “in the zone,” build momentum, and knock off a bunch of things in short order.
If, on the other hand, you do a little of this and some of that, there is no flow, and each activity tends to take more time. This is, in part, because your brain needs to constantly reorient and focus on something new.
Read MoreWhen people transition their attention away from an unfinished task to attend to a distraction, they lose time, and their subsequent task performance suffers. For example, if you interrupt writing an email to reply to a text message, you will need to refocus when you turn your attention back to finishing your email. That little bit of time of adjusting your focus compounds throughout the day. As we fragment our attention, fatigue and stress increases, which negatively affects performance.
So, not surprisingly, the first component of this “do it” step is to remove distractors.
Read MoreWe noted in a recent post how important our values are in helping us to make decisions. As leaders, we have many opportunities each day to choose between possible actions and reactions. Oftentimes, we tap into our core set of principles to make those selections. Though the choices that we make are typically not of the life-altering variety, we can use the example set by Sousa Mendes to decide how we will align ourselves in the event of conflict. Such selections may include:
Preserving character and integrity over the company’s bottom line.
Prioritizing the needs of an individual employee above company policy.
Maintaining a collaborative approach despite our personal agenda.
