As of the posting of this “Letting go of unproductive habits” it makes 5 post. If you have not read the others yet you may go back and find each of them here-
Post 1: Unproductive too much info and reinventing the wheel
2. Post 2: Multitasking
3. Post 3: Jack of all trades
4. Post 4: Starting a task but not finishing
And now for today…
Reacting to every distraction that comes along
The number of distractions has grown radically over the last few years. The main problem is that we are all expected to be reachable at all times.
When we become distracted by a text coming in and demanding our attention to go from what we were doing to now what someone else wants us to focus on, or a call that comes in and stops us from staying focused on the task we had been working on for a while at that point, it causes unnecessary stress and makes us procrastinate on our work. Then often times after the text, call or visit or however the distraction comes we then feel or are made to feel that a new direction is required for our time and attention. And so off we go into another direction.
Instead of being reachable at all times, shut down the communication devices when you want to concentrate on your work. If this means shutting down your phone or closing your email client, then do it. This way you can cut down your temptations to be distracted too easily.
Here is one of many tools that you could use if you need help in getting off line for a period of uninterrupted focus time.
Freedom.
Freedom is a simple productivity application that locks you away from the internet on Mac or Windows computers for up to eight hours at a time. Freedom frees you from distractions, allowing you time to write, analyze, read, create or whatever your task may be. At the end of your offline period, Freedom allows you back on the internet.