Office Productivity Hacks: Managing Interruptions and Distractions at Work

Office Productivity Hacks: Managing

Interruptions & Distractions At Work

You sit down to work, gathering all enthusiasm and focus. You start to get into your zone and feel accomplished already. You think you would make the most out of the day but, right then, you see it coming right to you - the distraction!

Distractions at work are no news, in fact, studies show that an average worker gets distracted 11 times; then, it takes them approximately 25 minutes to get back to their work.

Now that is a lot to be taken into the account.

You would be wondering what are the factors causing this considerable distraction?

Moreover, how to manage distractions at work?

Whether you are battling to manage time as a startup, freelancer or an entrepreneur, this guide is for you. So let us dive right in and find some solutions for managing interuptions and distractions to ensure high workspace productivity.

Most Common Distractions at Work and How to Manage Them?

1. Emails Distractions:

A research published by "Statista" shows that a staggering 293.6 billion emails are sent every single day. This rate is estimated to witness a hike of 4.4% by the next year (2020).

The scale on which email communications take place is huge, consequently, it is not feasible to cut out on emails entirely. So let’s admit - they do cause distraction; not just they create urgency, but also add up to existing work stress. Together, they could be killing your focus and making you delve into frustration. But is there a cure for this? Let's have a look.

How to avoid email distraction at work?

Before we talk about the cure, it is imperative to know that it is not just knowing the cure that solves the problem. A factor that plays the deciding role is whether or not you are applying that in your day-to-day life. So here you go:

Set a dedicated email-time. Just like you would have heard of me-time, set an email-time. Some prefer not looking at their email first thing in the morning while others claim it to be the ideal time. It depends from person to person.
Shut the email notifications during work. If this sounds scary to you (as you may miss some updates), you should use applications that let you organize your email list and show you only the select notifications.

This will not only keep you updated with the important notifications but also save yourself from getting distracted by emails.

2. Social Media Distractions:

You saw this coming, didn’t you? Look at any common-distractions-at-work list and you will find this two-letter word there. The reason it has gained so much fame would be a no brainer. Almost all of us, regardless of our profession or age, are social-media addicts.

Therefore this point barely needs any introduction. While some use social media for a work-related purpose, this does not seem to be a usual case according to a workplace distraction report by Udemy that tells us that: 58% of survey respondents admitted that they don’t actually need social media for work purposes but cannot resist the itch to look at their phones.

How to manage Social Media distraction at work?

Restrict notifications from popping onto your screen by using website blockers.
Turn off notifications - this will help you not get distracted by the *ping* and will help you manage distraction at work.

3. Noise Distractions

When you are trying to focus hard on your work, everything and everyone from your chatty coworkers to the clicking doors would seem to bother you somehow.

Let’s not even talk about the annoyance of working from home. Although you cannot entirely the background noise, we can look at some ways to manage noise distraction at work.

How to cope with Noise distractions at work?

Plug earphones - this would signal your coworkers that you are in the work mode currently and are not be disturbed. Additionally, this lets you fix focus. For some, white noise works while for some jazz works. Others prefer to not listen to music at all. It is up to you to decide which path to take.
Set boundaries - You can choose to close the door or tell people that it is your work time and you are not be disturbed. If you think this might not be the sweetest thing to do, talk to your coworkers and make them aware of your concerns.

3. Noise Distractions

If you are working solo, chances are you would be working beside your bed. Now, every time you sit down to work your cosy bed would stare you and request you to just dive into it (not literally!).

This results in making you feel drowsy and draining your productive juices. You can choose to have dedicated spot at home for working but this, too, doesn’t always seem to work. The noise, distraction and other factors would still pile on making it harder for you to just focus, so lets look at the measures we can take to manage Workspace or office distractions.

How to cope with Workspace distractions?

Having dedicated workspaces, like coworking spaces result in higher productivity, less chaos, and reduces decision fatigue too. A coworking space proves to be ideal because you can surround yourself with like-minded people along with having the peace of your mind.

Another reason being - the environment you work in is proven to have an impact on your productivity. So, it is advisable to opt for a coworking near your space. Not just for solo workers, coworking spaces are ideal for startups, sizeable teams and/or large corporate teams.

5. Decision Fatigue

It doesn’t matter how trivial the task is, it does take some portion of your attention to make a decision. Managing distractions at work may not be the easiest thing to do but what if you don’t even realise the distraction-causing elements?

For the said reason, you may not notice but tasks like dressing up, cooking, replying to emails cause distraction at work too.

How to cope with Decision fatigue?

Wrapping it Up

So this was your guide to managing common workspace distractions to stay focused and ensure optimum productivity. Although some distractions are inevitable, there are ways to manage them. Pannal's workspaces are designed to keep aforementioned factors and other common distractions at bay and boost productivity. Pannal solutions offers you work-conductive environment and allows you to stay focused by providing a plethora of resources at your disposal.

For more information on our coworking spaces, you can get in touch or leave your message on our contact page.

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