It happens to all of us! You’re driven to strike off all the tasks on your to-do list, and just then, in a twinkling, you find your mind wayfaring across beautiful plains and valleys in some corner of the world!
Here are seven effective ways to stop dawdling while staying on alert at work:
1. One task at a time
Jot down your tasks for the day even before you begin work. Cross out the ones you’ve completed. Complete the task at hand before moving on to another one because otherwise, you wouldn’t be able to do justice to either of those tasks.
Single-tasking leads to better focus.
2. Turn your incognito on
A study found that cell phones, social media sites, and email account for about 60% of distractions at work.
Work out a system for only urgent messages to reach you. Turn your status invisible on instant messengers and social networking sites. Lock your phone away in the drawer. Don’t give in to temptations easily!
3. Get aboard the reward train
Set short, realistic goals and reward yourself after completing each goal.
For example, buy yourself a cookie or watch a YouTube video of your choice after finishing the first five tasks on your list. You’ll be ticking things off the list sooner than you know.
4. Snack it away
Certain foods/fluids like chocolate, citrus fruits, caffeine, and water help you to feel alerted and energized throughout the day at work. Whenever you feel distracted, reach out for healthy munchies.
This will prevent you from engaging in other unrelated activities.
5. Music mollifies the mind
Music is meditation, they say. It can be quite relaxing and inspiring at times. For many people, there isn’t a better way to help them push through the day without the right music.
It’s important to pick an appropriate genre so that your performance remains unaffected.
6. Put on those headphones
Some external sources of stimuli like the chattering amongst colleagues, noisy carpentry work, sounds coming from outside the window tends to interrupt our work. Headphones are your solution to this problem.
It also gives an indication to others that you’re occupied with important work and don’t have time to chat.
7. Clean to concentrate
With too many things in disarray, you are bound to get distracted.
Organize your stuff. Only keep what you really need within your reach.
Let’s face it, the distractions coming from our surroundings are not in our command. We can, however, discipline ourselves and use some of the methods mentioned above to keep our work at full throttle.