Focus is Fragile: 10 Disturbances to Eliminate

True productivity is about getting things done efficiently. To be able to be efficient you need to be focused at the task at hand. But focus is fragile in this fast-paced world with an abundance of interruptions. Eliminate these 10 sources of disturbances and interruptions and your focus will improve, as will your effiency.

1. Email 

Email is a major disturbance. Every visible or audible notification (no matter how subtle) is a direct disturbance, because you are distracted by a signal taking away the focus from the task at hand. And unread messages are like small little voices whispering “Read me! Read me! We need your attention. Someone thought of you. Read me!”.

So even if you have the discipline to not read the new email, you will get distracted nevertheless. You will put energy in sustaining that state of discipline, when you need to put that energy in focusing on the task at hand instead.

Solution: Disable all notifications for new email. Done? Now close that client too!

2. Phones 

Phones are so intrusive. When the phone rings or vibrates it draws all the attention to it, even if you’re in the middle of a conversation. And if you don’t pick it up, it persists in disturbing you for half a minute or so. And you know there is someone, right at that very moment, putting in time and energy to get in contact with you. It takes discipline not to pick it up, not to listen to the voice mail afterwards and not to look at the text messages that are coming in.

Solution: Switch it off. Or if you can’t: relay your calls. If that’s also no possibility: find a phone-free location, or unplug the phone.

3. Instant Messaging (IM) 

This is like the phone but even worse. With phones you might not know who is calling and about what, but IM answers that instantly. Out of nowhere a message pops up in front of your work (if you’re behind a pc), and you see who it is and what they need you for. Your focus is gone instantly.

Solution: Switch off those IM clients.

4. Twitter 

I like Twitter, but it’s a major disturbance when you want to focus on a task. Twitter lets you update 70 times per hour and if you follow a lot of people, there are bound to be new tweets every time. It’s really fun and can be a very powerful tool, but not when you need to focus.

Solution: Close that client. You won’t miss a thing.

5. Radio 

At times music is very powerful to get you in a state of focus. But radio is not the best way. Radio can disturb in several ways, by means of a radio host babbling about stuff, commercial breaks that loudly scream for your attention or simply by playing a song that you really don’t like. Or it might also be a song that brings back all kinds of memories. Very detrimental for your state of focus.

Solution: Play a CD or a playlist of your mp3 player with music that you know will assist in getting and staying in a state of focus. Otherwise, turn off the radio.

6. Television 

Television is like the radio, only with images. Some people like to work with the television on, with news programs on or with music channels on. And while these might be a welcome distraction when you’re doing tedious repetitive work, they are a major interruption when you need to focus. Besides the reasons mentioned under Radio, there are also visual distractions. A flash of white light, or especially a flash of red light can draw your attention to the screen instantly and subconsciously.

Solution: Switch off that television.

7. People

People walking in are a major source of interruption as well. Whether they come in to simply ask a question, or to dump one of their problems on your desk or to have a social chat they are interrupting. Even if they are polite enough to ask if they can interrupt you (Sorry, you already have…).

Solution: Close the door to the space where you’re working. Make a “Do not disturb” sign, or take one home from a hotel, and put it on the door.

8. Visual clutter 

While you’re working on the task you’re focusing on, you get distracted by visual clutter in the space you’re working. At some point in time, your eye will catch that piece of paper that you thought you lost. Or it will catch a headline of an article in a magazine that makes you curious. Or … (fill in the blanks yourself).

Solution: Have a clean and orderly space where you work. If it’s an office, clean the office. If it’s the kitchen, clean up before you start. If it’s a workshop, have the right tools ready and the rest stored away. In short: have what you need in sight and the rest out of sight.

9. Mental clutter 

Mental clutter is a special kind of clutter. You can’t see it, but it’s there anyway. You’ll notice it when you’re working on a task and thoughts keep popping up in your head about stuff you want to do, need to do or should’ve done already. These thoughts interrupt you and make you lose focus. If you shrug them off though, you mind will only remind you of these things a little more often.

Solution: Get these thoughts out of your head and into a simple system you can trust. Start by reading Getting Things Done or Zen to Done to get you started. If these thoughts are in a system you trust, they miraculously disappear out of your mind.

10. YOU! 

Let’s face it, the single most important factor for disturbances and interruptions is you! Whereas a lot of the previous interruptions are initiated from outside you, there are many many more that are started from within you. You decide to check the internet to surf some pages, or to check that feedreader to catch up on the blogs, or to take a quick look at the stats (if you’re a blogger), or to login to online banking to check your financials, or to get that cup of coffee, or to send a text message to a friend, or to … Get it?

This truly is the hardest to solve, there’s not really a “hack” to prevent yourself from doing this. You can reduce the chance it happens though. Define what end result you want to see and prepare your work.

Further reading elsewhere:

• Keeping Focus While Beating Back Distractions @ LifeDev
• Adopt a 50/10 working rhythm @ Dawud Miracle
• 18 Productivity Haikus – Get Things Done and Achieve Inner Peace through the Power of Poetry @ Joshua Clanton
• Tips and Tricks for Distraction-Free Writing @ Lifehack
• 15 Can’t-Miss Ways to Declutter Your Mind @ Zen Habits

Posted in spilling beans on Tue 2008.01.22