Hopefully most of you set the intention of what you’re going to get accomplished each day, either with a to-do list or a project manager. As you start your day, focus on each item and check things off, here it comes–the surprise attack that has come to murder your productivity. It comes in many forms; clients, employees, spouses, children and Facebook, just to name a few.
Every day, our focus is tested and all day we have to be prepared for these productivity assassins in order to get through our to-do’s and projects. How do you stay focused when so many distractions keep you from being productive? It’s simple. Establish a “Closed Door Policy.” This means literally and figuratively close your door, close your unneeded open windows on your computer, turn off your ringer.
By establishing these rules, you can turn the tables on productivity killers. Closing your office door and putting a DO NOT DISTURB sign on it will remind others that you are busy and can’t be interrupted. This even works great if you don’t have an actual door. If you work in a cubicle or at the kitchen table, you will be surprised how powerful those three short words can be.
How many windows do you really need to leave open when you’re working on one project or task? It’s so easy to get distracted by email pop-ups or social media that you may never actually make it back to what you were working on! Dinging and ringing of phones affect our productivity more than any other, because we can take them with us anywhere. The distractions become mobile, with calls, text messages, emails and social media notifications all on one little phone. Turn it off, or better yet put it in another room, and watch your productivity soar.