Not More Than 15 Minutes

A survey by software company Harmon.ie found that 45% of workers say they can't go more than 15 minutes, on average, without an interruption. Amazing! While 15 minutes is a significant amount of time, it doesn't allow for alot of high mental focus. About the time you have reached the point where you are experiencing a breakthrough in thought-WHAM-you get interrupted.
If you are someone who experiences frequent interruptions and need more than 15 minutes without them, try some of these simple tips:
  • Turn off technology around you-including e mail notification, phones and any computer alerts
  • Move to an area where you aren't as visually distracted by things around you
  • Go to a place where you coworkers can not as readily find you
  • Start some instrumental music on your mp3 player (words tend to be distracting) and use your ear buds to tune out the noise around you
  • Before you start to work on something that requires focus, ask yourself-what are the most likely things to distract me in the next hour? Once you have an answer, work on managing those things first.

Who knows what amazing idea was going to show up at the 16th minute?

Jones Loflinfocus, interruptions, time managementComment