Sometimes it feels like our days are ruling us, not the other way around. We have this huge to-do list and just “not enough hours in the day” to comfortably leave work at the office and go home for the day.
But what if I told you there was a way to get more done during the day … in the same amount of time you’re working with now.
It doesn’t require huge life changes or a large commitment. It’s simply creating three new, small habits during your work day. All of which revolve around getting rid of distractions.
Three ways to get more done during the day:
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Take a break from the news.
If there’s one thing we can all agree on, it’s that there’s a lot going on in the world. But there’s a time and space to think about it; otherwise, it becomes unproductive … and sometimes unhealthy. If you’re someone who gets news notifications throughout the day, or often check the news to see what’s going on throughout the day, it might be time to turn down the noise.
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Limit looking at your cell phone while working on tasks.
It’s really easy to get sucked into a conversation or distractions on your cell phone. One minute you’re answering a quick text from your spouse, the next you’re scrolling through social media for an extra 20 minutes until you realize it’s time to get back to work.
Our cell phones may be “smart,” but they can be black holes for our productivity.
[bctt tweet="Our cell phones may be “smart,” but they can be black holes for our productivity." username="dukematlock"]
When you see a notification pop up, it becomes hard to ignore — no matter how hard we try to focus. But there’s this beautiful feature on the iPhone called “Do Not Disturb.” When you turn it on, it stops the screen from turning on when you get a notification.
If it’s still too hard for you to resist, put your phone in another room. Leave it in your car if you have to. Don’t let the ‘ping’ of your phone dictate your productivity.
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Schedule time to reply to emails rather than letting them interrupt your day.
One of the most freeing things you can do is turn off the notifications for your email, whether it be on your computer or your phone. It will take you more time to finish what you’re working on if you let your incoming emails dictate your schedule. Create spaces in your schedule to answer emails — maybe once in the morning, once in the afternoon, and once before you go home — instead of allowing yourself to get distracted from what you need to do in the moment.
I challenge you to try these three simple things this week and see how much more you get done. It’ll be counterintuitive at first — some of these distracting habits are so ingrained in our routines that it’s become second nature. But it doesn’t hurt to try. Try to take these simple steps to downplay your daily distractions and up your productivity!
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