My Top 5 Distractions Working From Home
Feeling distracted these days? I find myself being distracted by almost everything and especially when I’ve been self-isolating at home for five months. From the housework that magically keeps re-appearing, the little projects I’ve been meaning to get to and to the looooooong checklist of things to do - it’s so easy to switch off for a little bit and allow yourself to get off task and watch an episode of Friends.
Since distractions are an obvious productivity killer, I’ve listed my biggest distractors and how I manage them in order to get my work done!
Notifications
Did you know It takes nearly 30 minutes to refocus after you get distracted? It’s shocking until you realise how how it is to stay productive after you get a notification. Just to name a few applications I get notifications for: Whatsapp, Facebook (Page, Groups, Messages), Instagram (Feed, Stories), Slack, Email, Calendar, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Twitter, Reddit… even Foodpanda sends me a notification. All of these notifications are meant to keep us working and make our lives easier, like “wow it’s so easy to know what’s going on in real time! Now I don’t have to actually go to these applications to check myself - look at the time I’ve saved!” But in reality, we are far less productive and much more annoyed.
Pro Tip: Check your notification settings on your phone and uncheck everything. I’ve recently learned that you can even choose which apps show the red numbers that give everyone a ton of anxiety when they check their phone. It’s a game-changer!
Noise
This one is hard to avoid living in a city like Hong Kong. Especially where I live which is weirdly nestled next to three main roads taking cars in different directions. Which means I get the lovely sounds of heavy traffic at all times of the day. Add to that, when you live in a high-rise you can hear random noises from the apartment above you like marbles falling, chairs scraping the floor, dogs running, and the occasional fight. All part of the Hong Kong charm but also all are distractions!
Pro Tip: Sound-cancelling headphones obviously. I don’t have these yet but I like using podcasts or Spotify as white noise. A list of my favorite podcasts is coming soon!
Household Duties
Some of the top distractions when you work from home can simply be other household duties that need to be performed. If you are not working in a dedicated office space you might be able to literally see the dishes overflowing in the sink or the laundry piled up that needs folded.
Pro Tip: Do a majority of your housework in the morning before you sit down to work or as other things are happening. I usually do my housework in between coffees while the kettle is boiling and cooking lunch which comes out to be 2 or 3 stages of cleaning throughout the day.
Emails
With emails, the distraction comes in the form of trying to clean my inbox at the end of the day and it just never seems to last longer than 5 minutes. If you leave it for any length of time, they pile up so quickly and then you’re spending an afternoon sorting your email. Eyeroll. But the biggest distractor is when you get an email you need to respond to immediately even though you’re in the middle of a task. Depending on the email, it completely upends your workflow and can take a lot of time to get back to your original task.
Pro Tip: Choose a time(s) of day to deal with emails. Give yourself 30-60 mins a day to check and respond to emails and don’t check back until your next period of time. This will give you much needed structure and help you organise your day better.
SOCIAL MEDIA
Almost everyone uses social media every single day. The first thing I do the moment I wake up is grab my phone and check for any messages, notifications, or pop-ups. I then continue this process whenever I look at my phone. When I get a message or a notification from Instagram, I feel like I have to check immediately. Or respond to a comment and DM the second it’s posted. When I post photos to IG, I often get sucked into the rabbit hole of the scrolling feed before I stop myself and get back on task. Sound familiar??
Pro Tip: When you’ve established your work hours, don’t check social media. Turn it off, lock your phone, whatever you need but keep those worlds separate. Now, I know this doesn’t always apply… If you are someone who uses social media professionally but want to avoid becoming distracted, use social media with purpose. Block out times during the day that you will be on social media for work, responding to comments, DMs, researching other accounts and hashtags, getting on stories etc. but after that block of time is up, focus on something else. Keeping a line between the two helps you maintain focus and productivity despite a career in social media.
Obviously there are a lot of distractions when you work from home, and my distractions may not be your distractions! Still, the advantages can outweigh the disadvantages and be resolved if you work on them.