If your workplace is anything like ours, there are distractions aplenty vying for your attention. Audible conversations. Constant notifications on computer screens and phones. Squeaky chairs. Laundry—if you work at home. Things going on in your personal life. Impromptu meetings. And, this month, March Madness!
Every workplace has distractions—some welcome, some not. Distractions aside, our minds are prone to wander. We can only stay focused for so long. When working to reduce distractions in the workplace and help your people focus, don’t worry about every little disruption. You’ll never create an environment free of distractions. Instead, focus on managing what’s in your control and what’s significantly disruptive to people’s work. For the most part, you’ll be addressing and changing behaviors. Here are some ways to get started.
Encourage Breaks Away from Where People Work
Falling prey to distractions could be a sign that one needs a break. Fact is, breaks boost productivity! We all need to rest and recharge during the day to do our best work. (And of course, many states require them.) We’d take a break from writing this article, but we did only just begin.
Encourage employees to get away from their workstations during the workday, even if only for a few minutes at a time. If possible, designate areas where employees can be quiet or loud without disturbing others. A quiet area could serve as a place for mindfulness exercises, yoga, or catching up on social media. A loud area would enable employees to chat about March Madness or whatever else is on their minds.
If you don’t have a space on-site for people to gather where they won’t disrupt their coworkers, perhaps there’s a location nearby that would suffice.
Set Reasonable Expectations for Response Times
Sometimes work can be a distraction all on its own. The frequent beeps and pop-ups that accompany email and messaging app notifications can be difficult to ignore, especially if there’s a chance the sender expects an immediate response.
Of course, not every message requires an immediate response, and we don’t have to act like they do. If your employees tend to err on the side of responding quickly, or don’t know how soon after receiving a message they are expected to respond, it might be helpful to set some ground rules for internal communication. These could include guidelines on how often to check various communication types (e.g., email, messaging app, text message) and how soon a response, if needed, is expected (e.g., 24 hours, within the hour, immediately). You might also indicate under what circumstances employees are allowed to turn off notifications or close communication apps so they can focus more effectively on the task at hand.
Limit Multitasking
Distractions sometimes show up because we invite them by taking on too much at once and multitasking when we really should be present with what’s before us, whether that’s a solo project or a meeting we’re attending with others. The truth is, human brains don’t multitask, they task-switch. And every time we task-switch, we lose time and productivity. Being able to focus despite distractions—essentially, resisting the urge to task-switch—is a skill. It takes work and practice and the support of management. To help employees build that skill, ask them to block time for individual tasks and projects. Encourage prioritizing that work during that time. And remind them that meetings are not an appropriate occasion to catch up on emails, scan news headlines, or scroll social media.
Encourage Scheduled “Do Not Disturb” Time
Speaking of focusing on the task at hand, you can also give employees permission to schedule “Do Not Disturb” or “Focus” time on their calendars. During these periods, employees should be able to work with the expectation that they won’t be bothered except in a true emergency. They won’t answer calls or emails or chats. No one should stop by their workstation unannounced, even just to say hello or ask a quick question. If that latter part isn’t possible, give them permission to reserve a private room or work off-site. In any case, they’re deliberately unavailable for the duration of that time, free to focus entirely on the work they’ve deemed important, empowered to ignore everything else.
Lead by Example
Simply telling employees that they can schedule downtime, wait to respond to messages, and take one task at a time won’t necessarily make them believe they can safely do these things. They might not believe you if leadership doesn’t do the same. It’s important that managers also set aside time to shoot the breeze with coworkers, wait to respond to messages, schedule focused time, and be present in the moment.
Gather Feedback
Every workplace has its own set of distractions. To find out which are most prevalent in your workplace, ask employees. If they’re not sure how to answer, ask them more specific questions like how they feel about noise levels in the workplace, the last time they got distracted and what caused it, or how quickly they feel they need to reply to messages from coworkers. To gather this feedback, anonymous surveys may be best given that employees will likely feel disinclined to admit when or how often they’re getting distracted at work. Once you have this information, do what you can to help employees avoid distractions and focus on what’s important.
Now, if you’ll excuse us, there’s a lovely little bird perched outside our office window, and we simply must pause to admire it.
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