Welcome back, everyone! Today, we’re here to chat with you about a concept that many (if not all!) of us struggle with. Staying focused is one of the main attributes of being productive at work, but with all of the distractions that surround us each day, it’s easier than ever to become distracted in your environment! Read below to find out our best tips for staying in tune with your responsibilities and dialing out your distractions.

Let’s Avoid Multi-tasking with these Steps…

Create a To-Do list: While it may be easy to feel like you want to tackle 100 things in a single day, doing so will likely leave you feeling more overwhelmed and unmotivated than narrowing it down. For that reason, we encourage you to narrow in on a few to-do list priorities for the day,… and write them down! Not only is it super satisfying to physically check things off of your list, but forcing yourself to read and be faced with your priority items throughout the day is a fantastic way to nail those items into your memory.
Ditch Your Phone: First things first, your phone will almost always be your main point of distraction. Whether this is from personal calls, texts, or social platforms, our phones keep our eyes glued to screens. Whenever possible, instead utilize online work chat platforms like Microsoft Teams or Jabber, and ditch your phone! The best way to completely mitigate distraction is not to create the opportunity for it at all. If this isn’t an option for you, we recommend scheduling phone breaks throughout the day instead of keeping it next to your desk: explore 10-minute breaks every few hours or a gap for lunch as our top strategy!
Create Schedules: Another way to stay accountable is by creating daily schedules highlighting goals, tasks, deadlines, and other priorities of your work, week, or even month! Doing so will help you stay in line with an organized list and also keep you from getting lost among a variety of tasks and ideas.
- Extra tip: If you are following a strict schedule, always be aware of incorporating time for YOU! Personal breaks, time for exercise, and most importantly time to shut off and be done for the night will allow you to focus in and out on your work obligations in a balanced and healthy manner.
Be On… and Off! When you’re on… be on. And when it’s time to be off,… be off! There is nothing more important than making time spent in and outside of your job meaningful. Trying to spread yourself across both responsibilities at once will leave your productivity and final outcomes at half the value that you can truly reach! Remember, you’re not expected to work around the clock for a reason, so put in effort when appropriate, and know when it’s time to unplug.

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