Raiding Productivity

By Bibi Goldstein
Being a productivity and time management expert you would think I have it all covered dealing with distractions that are raiding productivity and get through my to-do list everyday no problem, right?
Wrong, wrong, double wrong.
My productivity is attacked on a regular basis, from urgent requests from clients to team members needing support and guidance. It is tough dealing with these daily surprise attacks even for someone like me who’s hyper aware of getting sidetracked.
So, want to know what I do to get focused and back on track? Here’s some simple steps I take when
these raiders show up. Use one, some or all of them mix and match until you figure out your formula.
1. Take a break, walk away for at least 5 minutes. Get ting focused could be as simple as giving myself a quick reprieve to regroup.
2. Move on to another task or project on the to-do list other than the one you were working on before getting interrupted. A change of scenery can sometimes be exactly what is needed to get back on task.
3. Disappear. Even if it’s only for 15 minutes. Short periods of uninterrupted time to concentrate helps me reset my brain and wipe away the memory of those raiders.
a. Close and lock your office door.
b. Shut down your email.
c. Turn off your phone
4. Use a timer and work on tasks for only 10 minutes at a time, this again is a great way to use short spurts of focus time to reduce agitation and stress because there is no long term commitment.
5. Do a brain dump. I keep a notebook, I won’t call it a journal because I’m not sure anything written in there is even comprehensible. In that notebook I just write whatever I’m thinking about and get it out of my head. This helps me establish a clean slate and start over.
I would wish you luck battling those nasty raiders but I know you won’t need armed with these techniques.