According to Fortune, 60% of employees can’t stay focused for 30 minutes. This inability to focus has resulted in “popcorn brain” and “fragmented attention.” Employees battle with browsing the web, looking at cell phones, and checking emails. These activities lower productivity. The tips can squash distractions, so your team can work more efficiently.
1. Implement a Workday Plan
A fluid workday creates too many “space gaps” throughout the day. It can lead employees to indulge in time wasters like endless scrolling sessions on their favorite apps. To combat this, encourage them to set daily goals. Goal-setting helps them clarify what they must accomplish.
Once they have clear goals, promote the practice of time blocking. This technique allows them to choose which tasks they want to work on. For instance, they can block out time using calendars on Google, Outlook, or another app. Time blocks are a way of structuring the workday for optimal productivity.
This practice “forces” them to schedule high-priority tasks first. This also allows them to devote their mental energy, alertness, and attention to complex tasks. Later in the day, they can tackle less demanding work.
Goal setting and time blocking help foster a distraction-free work environment. As a result, employees can control their work day from start to finish.
2. Quiet the Smartphone and Social Media
Two addictions kill employee productivity. One is the smartphone, and the other is social media. Americans spend nearly three hours each day on their phones. One research study reveals Americans check their phones approximately 344 times a day.
How about social media? One study estimates the U.S. economy loses $650 billion due to workers logging on to social media apps. Time spent on these platforms prevents work from getting done.
These are some suggestions for overcoming these addictions — at least while employees are at work. Following suggestions may curb their temptation to go down a smartphone rabbit hole.
Use the Grayscale: Apps have eye-popping colors and logos designed to grab attention. The red notification badges scream, “Tap me.” Changing the color setting to grayscale tones down those apps, diminishing their visual appeal.
Hide Apps: Employees have two options for keeping their favorite apps “out of sight, and out of mind.” They can either remove them from their display or place them on another page. Either way, they won’t be the first thing they see.
Shut Off Notifications: When the phone buzzes, it’s hard for employees not to pick it up. In this case, the “Do Not Disturb” is a simple productivity lifesaver. However, allowing emergency calls and texts from family or friends is fine.
3. Improve Email Management
An email inbox jam-packed with messages demands attention. Employees have to fight the urge to check every email. Of course, yielding to these constant interruptions is a time suck that kills their focus. You can encourage them to use a “batching” method to manage their emails.
This approach sets aside specific times for reading and responding to emails. These timeframes could be set for the morning, lunchtime, and right before leaving work. For example, they can schedule 15-minute email sessions.
Another suggestion is to encourage your team to use email filters. These tools allow them to categorize emails based on priority. For instance, creating folders for urgent messages and those not requiring immediate attention.
Additionally, browsers like Shift enable users to streamline their email accounts. They can create different workspaces for work, personal, and business emails. “What we found by switching between workspaces is users are no longer distracted by everything else,” says Michael Foucher, Shift’s VP of Product.
Creating a Distraction-Free Workspace
The workplace is full of distractions vying for your employee’s attention. However, they can avoid these productivity buzzkills by taking simple actions. These include planning their work days, silencing their smartphones, and utilizing email management tools. Turning these tips into habits enables them to create a distraction-free workspace.
