10 Actionable Tips for Those Who Gets Distracted at Home
Distractions… They are everywhere! In the office, at home, in a cafe — you can find those small culprits of unproductivity in any place on Earth! Even the quietest sound can distract, so what can we say about the noise of neighbours’ repairs familiar to everyone who works remotely!
Want to change the game rules from now on? Here are the best ways to stay focused and get things done, within deadlines and without being distracted!
#1. Sleep Well
A person who tries to cope with tasks quicker without good rest and sleep won’t pay much attention to the quality. Also, if you can’t put thoughts together because you haven’t slept well, you will hardly be able to be productive.
Get to know what suits you. People always talk about 8-hour rest, still, your ideal sleeping time can vary from 6 to 9 hours. Match these hours to your schedule and get accustomed to waking up at the same time to feel the most charged with plenty of energy!
Also, if you feel extremely tired in the middle of the working day, have a nap for 15–20 minutes. It’s always better to snooze for a short time than to waste long hours on things you could cope with in 10 minutes if you were full of energy.
#2. Quit Smoking
Smokers spend lots of time on this unhealthy habit. Also, they often get distracted by colleagues when going out to smoke another cigarette. People commonly go out in groups, so everyone gets distracted, no matter what they were doing before!
Want to relax when working from home? Instead of smoking, drink tea or coffee, watch a funny video on YouTube. And if you fundamentally don’t want to quit, try going out only when all important tasks are done.
#3. Delegate Tasks
When you are dealing with boring and unimportant tasks, the wish to do something else will become unimaginable. If you are facing the same situation, delegate tasks to your colleagues who find them not exhausting or freelancers who will cope with them for a reasonable price.
If you haven’t a chance to delegate tasks to others, use your logic and creativity! You can either automate the process or find a creative way of solving issues that will make the work from home fascinating!
#4. Use Time-Tracking Apps
A great example is the Pomodoro bot in Telegram, still, any other similar app for working from home can be used. The point is in setting timers for both work and rest which then helps to better focus attention and maintain the freshness of the mind.
- Set the timer for 25–30 minutes during which you only fixate on the current task.
- Have a break for 5 minutes and get back to the next working sprint!
- After four such iterations, have a large 25-minute break.
#5. Get Rid of Physical Distractions
Isolate yourself from everything on a physical level so that nothing interferes with doing business:
- Use headphones and ask your colleagues to text you and not speak loudly.
- Turn off social media, messengers and other software that can send you notifications.
- If you’re working remotely, close the door and have only your laptop/computer and important notes with you.
In case someone messages you about urgent tasks, don’t panic! It’s not a reason to forget about your current task. Continue dealing with your first assignment, and only then get to the second one.
#6. Use Sound Accompaniment
This may be your favorite music or ambient nature sounds, which depends on your mood and motivation.
Some people consider calm ambient music the best choice while others get motivated by tracks from video games.
Internet DJs even offer sets of “Music for coding”. ;)
#7. Find Your Own Productivity Peak
Determine when you work best, what time is the most productive for you. If you wake up early and are ready to change the world at 6 AM, take on the difficult tasks at this time. If in the morning you feel like a bear in hibernation, start with something simple and leave the most difficult things for the afternoon, when you are full of energy for facing ambitious challenges.
Note the time when it is easiest for you to achieve results and solve problems in a creative way. Regular work in your own productive time means x10 outcomes, as your brain will be accustomed to fruitful work during those hours.
#8. Define the Most Unproductive Time
This point is inversely proportional to the previous one. Everyone has their own ineffective time. You just have to watch the pace and rhythm of work to understand when you are making maximum efforts, but the results are still not impressive. Perhaps there is a time period when your creativity is at its zero point, logical thinking falls asleep, and even the smallest stuff can distract you from the business.
Use this time for performing simple tasks or browsing your mailbox, which usually takes lots of time but doesn’t require deep focus.
#9. Prepare Your Lunch in Advance
A delicious lunch is a guarantee that your brain will get enough energy to work properly. And in order not to be distracted by cooking or finding a suitable cafe nearby, take care of your lunch in advance. Otherwise, you will be thinking about a juicy steak, not a project you are engaged in.
Try not to mix healthy food with caffeine and sugary drinks, as they commonly charge you with energy for a while and then you feel twice more exhausted. Choose clear water instead and keep a glass or bottle of water nearby. Also, you can add lemon juice, ginger, peppermint, or cucumber to increase the antioxidant level in it.
#10. Keep Your Environment Calm
Do you have difficulties concentrating, due to factors you cannot influence? Leave this place and go to a cafe (following all rules of post-quarantine safety) or another room to get rid of distractions. If everything is okay with the environment, but you still can’t focus for reasons unknown, get rid of any clutter on your table.
Should the problem stay, think whether these small distractions are worth your time and effort. In 99% of cases the answer will be “No”, still, this hack helps you break the unconscious chain that draws your attention away from the main task when working from home.
Finally, we all should get used to the idea that we can never completely get rid of distractions. We can only properly configure ourselves for the working process and not respond to the unimportant stuff.
