What is your way to stay focused while working?
Elif Duran
43 replies
It is hard to not get distracted by notifications, people, emails, and phone calls. Regaining focus to get back to work is harder than that.
How do you avoid distractions?
Replies
Satish Kumar Veluri@satish_kumar_veluri
I assume we have created such a world around us that it's really difficult not to have distractions.
Having said that, I think there are three ways to avoid distractions
1. Lock yourself up in isolation. LOL :-)
2. Switch off all notifications, mobile etc... Put on your headset and listen to the music which keeps you focused.
3. Or become like HULK (always angry, but no green mode) and stay focused irrespective of what chaos is happening around you.
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@satish_kumar_veluri ahahahah you give me a laughter with your reply :) The second one always work, if you are not distracted by yourself 🙌🏼
For me, having 'daily' and 'weekly' checkbox to-do lists is super helpful. It helps me stay focused, ensure I get those small tasks done... and provides a little dopamine hit when I do!
@dan_robins I agree, brain dumps always make me feel relieved. I do once in a week and then convert them to daily to-do lists.
The momentum of done is one of the best ways to keep going 🚀
@elifduran Can't beat those little momentum building exercises! As founders we have hundreds of context switches a day... they're unavoidable, but we must learn to turn into context switching rockstars (or risk getting nothing done!!)
i have switched off notifications from all platforms except financial apps, this helps in staying in control of when you want to open an app.
Music playing, no sound notifications for Slack/Email/iMessage, and placing my phone in the other room. Plus using both screens to help with the same task (as opposed to one task screen, one screen for Slack) keeps me from getting distracted!
@jonathan_nass I love the using both screens for the same task idea - going to try to stick to this one
@jonathan_nass @angela_dickinson I am trying my best to not to be available any time for my team, it is hard. You give me a great idea, thank you Jonathan, I will definitely try 🙌🏼
Delete the Tiktok app lolz.😋
Headphones with noise cancelling.
Music with no lyrics.
Having a specific time for phone calls, news, chats.
I try not to suppress my urge to check the notifications, messages or new, but to have a separate time for that. And when I do that, I enjoy chatting, reading news, getting distracted :) But when the time for that is up, I just focus on my work.
Taking short breaks at times
@arpan_011 How do you manage your time? Do you have any specific tactics?
I have 3 things:
1) I make a to-do list for work, then a personal to-do list of up to 5 things. If I feel I'm getting distracted, I tackle one thing on my personal to-do list - it gives me the focus and momentum back for my work list.
2) I try to work on pen and paper at times to avoid device-based distractions
3) If I'm on my computer, I shut down all unnecessary tabs
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The best course of action is occasionally to take a break when you can no longer concentrate on work. Staring at the screen for a long might make you tired and worn out. It is therefore advised to take short breaks.
Emails, phone calls, notifications and people are part of the business game. I only feel distracted when prioritising something that does not play a vital role.
I use them as leverage, prioritising the circle and activities; I find them useful during execution.
@alessandro_canella Unnecessary workloads are the worst ones 👀 I feel exhausted by the distractions, if I can not get things done in a day. That's why, I need some free-distracted time for at least 1 important task to get done in a day 🎯
@elifduran I agree with you, Elif. I set schedules based on priorities to not get distracted. That way, email, messages and people are just getting me to another level of productivity because I exclude unnecessary things and get the leverage from the required ones. :)
Getting into a clear state to focus can be so hard and its so vulnerable to the outside noise. In addition to what others have said, here's a bit more specificity of tactics I use.
1. Create a "work" setting on your phone - limits distractions while also providing the peace-of-mind that important notifications will come through.
2. When you're not focused, get up and walk around (ideally outside). No headphones. If possible, leave your phone at home.
3. To-do lists. I suggest making these physically, with paper and pen. Crossing them off by-hand should make you feel proud and reinforces action (and thereby focus).
@daniel_baum I don't get distracted by phone, I put it far away and forget. My laptop is a trouble for notifications, but I will figure it out soon.
I love no-tech mornings/nights. It gives me time to relax and helps to think creatively.
And finally, I am a big fan of to-do lists too 🎯
Use a time tracker to capture all you do during the day, analyze then where your time goes, and find ways to optimize it for better results and productivity. By the way, I use TMetric.
@soylakate Thank you for the reply, we are building a work management tool called BeforeSunset and planning to launch soon, it includes time tracking as well. We would be so glad if you can give us some feedbacks, you can subscribe from here: https://www.producthunt.com/upco...
I have half-day To-Do lists. The first one I set up at the start of the day which I have to finish up before I break for lunch, and another one for the next half. Has been working well for me, much better than weekly and day planners. Keep short interval goals.
PS: Lock social apps on phone during working hours.
Coffee + music + checklist of things to do
A lot of going on can put everyone off, although you cannot control it at times. Always take breaks and do not multitask! It's hard to resist to, but I found that I am much more efficient if I stay focused on one single task and then move onto another one when I am finished.
@elifduran It depends on the urgency and priority. If it isn't, you simply tell them you'll get back to them as soon as you can
I recently added a 'Work focus mode' to my notification center that only notifies me of important notifications.
Headphones with good music are the most important for me though, blocking out all the outside noise so it's just me, my computer, and the music 🙌
I use binaural beat playlists while I have to focus. you can easily find them on Spotify or other apps and I must say, that that kind of music really helps me to focus a lot deeper and tune out everything else. I of course mute everything that could give off a notification before that and let my colleagues know via slack status that I am in focus mode :)
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notifications off
door closed
go down the to-do list