As many of us are still stuck at home during this pandemic. Many are searching for ways to stay productive without comprising the work-life balance. Our new office has become our home and for many of us, we find it challenging striking the balance between completing work tasks whilst at home in a world of constant digital distractions. Three-quarters of employees experience burnout every year. While COVID is going to be around for a while, without the right processes to adapt to the “new normal” it is very clear that these numbers will increase worsening employee morale and ultimately contributing to a performance loss to the organisation.
Here are 5 simple ways to help you find focus and reduce your digital distractions while being at home:
Manage your Notifications:
All apps these days come with settings to disable notifications. Every time we receive a WhatsApp or Facebook message our phones do not necessarily need to Ping! Opting out of notifications breaks the “always-on” mindset that we constantly need to be available and reactive to others. Group chats on WhatsApp can be very disturbing. A good suggestion is to Mute the group chats and personalize your notifications for individuals who are colleagues and important people you need to be in contact with during the day. Following this process will lead to yourself being less distracted and overwhelmed by notifications.
Productive Hours:
A good way to manage your time is to work at 50 minutes intervals at a time and take 10 minutes to break between the next hour slot. During the 50 minutes ensure that your computer only has the one thing opened that requires your attention. Having multiple tabs on browsers open can lead to many distractions. This will ensure you become more accountable.
Changing the Scenery:
Often, we find when we stuck in the same place at home working away, we find that we are unproductive. If you plan on working 6 productive hours a day, make sure you try and change the scenery by sitting with the laptop outside of your desk environment. This can be in your lounge area or outside in your garden if the weather permits. Also using different devices can lead to being a change outside of your laptop. Try keeping your mobile phone as the device to check emails and respond to them and ensure your laptop is only for work during the productive hours with your mailbox closed.
Using Email Filters for Emails:
We all receive emails relating to sites we subscribe to and look forward to receiving them.
However, this process leads to our Inbox being flooded with numerous emails, and it's difficult to sometimes identify the important ones. Setting up rules for emails and filters will enable certain emails to be placed in Folders which you create and will allow you to receive the important ones during the day and can catch up with the Promo emails and newsletters in the evening.
Results for the Week:
Often we find ourselves working on 101 things which is urgent however none of which is important to the core business goals. Having a simple plan of 3 results to accomplish for the week can lead you to be more productive and set aside the morning to do the bulk of the workload as the dopamine levels in the body are at a higher place earlier in the mornings which will enable a higher level of concentration and alertness to help you achieve your results. Create milestones for each result against Planned Hours and measure your Actual Hours and reflect on the gap on the planned vs. actual achieved. Ensure your line manager is on board with your results for the week and clarify expectations before starting any new task.
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