Attention, Attention: May I Have Your Attention Please
It feels like it’s tougher and tougher to concentrate these days and even more so working virtually when you’re not accustomed to it. How do you get the work done, get the kids what they need, deal with the noise and distractions of deliveries, landscapers, neighbors and who knows what else?
Even if you were working virtually prior to the pandemic there could be others in your home that weren’t there before or kids that were previously occupied in school. Regardless, distractions are aplenty. The good news is that there are many ways to help you deal with distractions and get focused on what you need to get done.
To begin you need to consider the time of day and the type of work you need to get done, this will help you to address and minimize the distractions. Identify the times of day where you have the most uninterrupted time and take care of those tasks that require the most concentration. Statistics show that most people can usually only give their attention to any one thing for about 10-15 minutes, but when fully able to concentrate for that amount of time they can get more done.
Technology is one of the biggest distractions we all encounter daily in many ways, phones dinging, pop-up notifications on the computer, wi-fi issues just to name a few. There are two things to think about with technology, one being to turn it all off when you need to focus on something. The other may not seem so conventional, however it’s important to do and that’s maintenance. Find good IT support and make sure all your technology is up to date with back-ups, virus protection and current updates is crucial to your productivity. We’ve all been there when something crashes or we all of a sudden have to spend an entire day dealing with a computer or phone issue. A little preparation by having IT support who checks these things out for you on a regular basis can go a long way.
Finally, clear your mind. Meditate, go for a walk, a jog, whatever works for you to give yourself as much of a blank canvas as possible in order to concentrate fully on what needs your attention.
