Feeling Distracted? Here’s How to Stay Focused at Work

Many people have struggled to learn how to stay focused at work or have at least Googled “how to be productive ” once in their lives. The remaining one per cent consists of unicorns who can effortlessly eliminate distractions at work. Staying focused every minute in your nine-to-five job can feel impossible nowadays in the age of social media. According to a University of California Irvine study, the average office employee can only focus on their tasks for an average of three minutes and five seconds.

The fast-paced environment of the internet age has created a pandemic of distractions. However, we gathered the best tips and solutions to help you stay focused when on the job. All of these hacks essentially lead toward “deep work,” the optimum state of focus for every employee. Deep work is the goal—and read on to achieve it.

What Is Deep Work vs. Shallow Work?

Cal Newport was the first person to introduce deep work. He explained that deep work occurs when you perform in a "state of distraction-free concentration that pushes your cognitive capabilities to their limits.” Consider it unlimited, unbreakable focus. You get the most amount of things done in the most amount of time. You experience it whenever you feel like you’re “on a roll” or "in the zone."

In contrast, shallow work refers to multitasking. You are “on and off,” easily distracted by people approaching you, social media, and other unnecessary things. Shallow work feels like you’ve done so many things without accomplishing anything. As you perform your primary task, you drift focus. For example, you’re drafting a report, but as you research, you open one tab after another, completely straying away from the subject. What more, you’re responding to emails simultaneously.

Confused about deep versus shallow work? Check out the illustration above for their key differences.

Many people get by with shallow work, but deep work is the key to success, growth, and progress. It helps you become more creative and focused. Here's how to get started.

10 Tips to Stay Focused and Productive at Work

1. Let people know not to disturb you.

One distraction you can eliminate is other people. When in the office, it can be tempting to want to chat with coworkers, especially after the pandemic when you haven’t socialised for a long time. You might think that wearing headphones or earphones might be enough, but your colleagues might not take the hint. Set boundaries and pin a “Do Not Disturb” or “Busy” sign in your cubicle or table so your coworkers can respect your wishes and let you get back to work.

2. Work in a quiet area with little noise distractions.

Other noises can attract your attention. A door slamming, a bag of chips opening, a person walking by—Humans could give goldfish a run for their money in terms of their short attention spans. To combat this, move yourself to a quiet area that provides you peace, like an empty room or an enclosed cubicle. Take it further by getting noise-cancelling headphones that block out distracting sounds.

3. Put your gadgets on silent.

Gadgets are too often the worst sources of distractions. Phones, tablets, and smartwatches – these items invite ineffective multitasking, which is not beneficial for earnest work. Gadgets can be productivity killers. One beep can derail your journey to deep work. The solution is simple: Turn them off or put them on silent. You also have to change your mentality toward your gadgets too. One way to do this is to imagine your office as a cinema or a place of worship. Think of it as rude to pick up your gadgets unless necessary. It will encourage you to keep your gadgets silent and stay absorbed in your current task.

4. Keep power bars in your drawer.

You can't skip your bodily needs. If you snack often, supply your drawers with healthy power bars and snacks. It will stop you from going to the break room and pantry and inadvertently engaging in a 30-minute chat with a colleague. Instead, stay at your desk and get straight back to work. Other items you can stock in your drawers include medicine and ointments to help with headaches and mild discomfort. Make sure to fill your water tumbler, too.

5. Practice office-wide quiet hours.

You won't be able to concentrate if the entire office throws a party in the background. To ensure everyone gets the same level of productivity, propose enforcing office-wide quiet time during specific hours of the day. It will encourage everyone to practise deep work, which is, quite frankly, contagious. Being productive is easier when everyone else around you is also productive. Spread some good influence on the office, and, who knows, you might just create a culture of deep work.

6. Write a To-Do list.

Strangely enough, written to-do lists have fallen out of fashion recently. Numerous apps and programs have made notebooks obsolete, but writing is still a helpful mental exercise. Jotting down a to-do list can make you feel more in charge of your life, and several studies have proven that writing things down is better for your mental processes. You feel more committed to accomplishing these tasks if you write them down versus just typing them in a Reminders app.

7. Schedule time blocks.

Ensure you get things done by giving yourself a deadline or setting time blocks for specific tasks. Time blocking is a tried and tested method of completing assignments. Simply allocate certain times of the day for tasks based on the way you work. For example, give yourself only the time from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. to respond to emails, followed by two hours of filling out paperwork before you have lunch. In between big tasks, give yourself five to ten minutes of break to refresh your energy.

8. Utilize productivity tools.

There are countless productivity tools out there, so you might as well take advantage of the tools available to you. Hit two birds with one stone by using Google Calendar to schedule time blocks. Other productivity tools include apps (like Pocket and Reminders) and browser extensions (like AdBlocker and Google Calendar). There are plenty of free tools out there for you, so don’t let them go to waste.

9. Hack your phone.

Putting your phone on silent isn’t enough to keep away from it. Take extra steps to prevent distractions, like enabling voicemail, setting your social media status to busy or invisible, and hiding distracting apps like TikTok and Instagram. It can be your way of “hacking” your phone, as sometimes, our social media addiction can be our worst enemy. If you think your phone addiction has gone too far, then why not turn it off altogether?

10. Seek help.

If all of these tips and solutions prove inadequate for you, then it might be a sign of a more serious issue concerning your focus and attention span. If you feel distracted all the time at work, then this could be a sign of burnout. But don’t fret—There are professionals like counsellors who can help you solve your focus and productivity issues.

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