7 Practical Strategies to Avoid Being Distracted (and Avoid Ruining Your Team’s Lives)
Focus is the new superpower. Think about it. How many times have you checked a number on a spreadsheet, then forgotten it by the time you went to type it into the report you’re writing? We have become so habituated to switching from tab to tab at speed, scrolling through newsfeeds, reading snippets that the person who can sink deep into something – and retain it – has a huge advantage.
As a leader, it’s obvious that you will get the most from your people when they are able to perform at a high level ... but are you actively undermining their capacity by creating and perpetuating an always-on, distraction-rich culture?
Try these techniques to strengthen your focus:
1. Work at the optimal time. We all have a time of day that we’re best at focusing. For most people, it’s either early in the day or later at night that our ability to focus is at its highest. Whenever possible, schedule those activities that require great focus during those times. Save easier tasks for other times of the day.
As a leader: Be sure you are creating a work culture that gives your people the flexibility and trust to arrange their work so they can be as productive as possible. This will often (mostly?) be something other than sitting at a desk from 9 am – 5 pm.
2. Remove distractions. You might think “removing distractions” is a tad too obvious to include in a list of things to do to avoid being distracted. Yet, almost everyone I talk to is constantly dinged and pipped by notifications.
Distractions are the number 1 enemy of deep focus. Consider what you’re commonly distracted by and do what you can to eliminate those distractions from your environment.
For example, you can’t be distracted by your phone if it’s turned off and in the other room.
Notifications aren’t a distraction if they’re switched off.
If you’re distracted by a noisy environment, use noise-cancelling headphones while you work.
As a leader: Reconsider the cost/benefit analysis of highly distracting tools such as instant chat. Where they create an expectation of instant response, they mean everyone is required to be always on – a complete disaster for deep work. Even when instant responses aren’t expected, the constant notifications massively deplete your people’s cognitive bandwidth. Get rid of them!
3. Set your intention. Decide what you’re going to accomplish before you begin a task. How long are you going to work on it? What is the endpoint? Is it completion or a specific amount of time? Decide that you’re going to focus on this task until that endpoint is reached.
As a leader: Help your team to prioritise, then support their decisions. Don’t promise someone the morning to finish a piece of work then bombard them with messages.
4. Use a timer. A timer is an easy way to magnify your focus and avoid being distracted. Set the timer for the appropriate amount of time and see how much you can get done in that time. Commit to working non-stop until your time elapses.
As a leader: Ask your people what helps them focus and what gets in the way – then do what you can to make it better.
5. Practice focusing in your daily life. Multi-tasking is a myth. We don’t multi-task, we task-switch. Each time we switch, we lose some focus. You’re either doing one thing or the other every moment of the day. Whether you’re eating a meal, driving, taking a shower, watching TV, or having a conversation, try to focus completely on what you’re doing.
Focus is a skill that grows with practice.
As a leader: A great place to practice focus is in your interactions with your people. It’s amazing to me how many clients (from frontline to CEO) relate stories of their bosses (from first-line leader to Board chair) clicking their phones and reading emails while in meetings with them. This is terrible! It’s rude, it’s unproductive and it sets the cultural tone in your team and organisation. Stop it.
6. Take breaks. No one can focus intently for hours and hours without a break. Experiment and see how often you need to take a break and how long your breaks need to be in order to feel recharged.
Keep in mind that it’s better to take a break before you actually feel the need for one.
Studies have shown that most people do best with a five-minute break every 30-45 minutes. A longer break is needed every couple of hours. Use this information as a starting point and experiment.
As a leader: Role model this behaviour. Build breaks into long meetings. Be unavailable while you’re on a break, and be open about it. You’re a human, it’s ok to show that.
7. Get sufficient sleep. You can’t focus well if you’re not getting enough sleep. Your brain just doesn’t work effectively without the rest it requires.
How much sleep do you need? As much as it takes, but for most people it’s in the range of 7 – 9 hours.
As a leader: Don’t communicate with your team during the night. I can’t believe I need to offer that as advice, but there it is.
The ability to focus is incredibly powerful and a skill you can actually develop.
When you can do more, at a higher level, in less time, you really can feel a bit like a superhero!
Until next week,
Take care of yourself and others
Madeleine
PS If you’d like to work with me to help you focus on and implement what matters to you, let me know. Send me a message to enquire, and please share with anyone you think may benefit.
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