The cost of Distractions

First of all, I want to say that distractions are not all that bad and that statistically, distracted persons have the great potential to find solutions to problems in ways that are unique and different.  With that being said, today we will talk about the cost of distractions while we are performing our jobs.  Distractions can help or affect us in different ways, and normally happen suddenly, at a bad time, and unexpectedly.  However, there are things we can do to avoid getting distracted and meet our objectives despite them.  In order to be able to work and classify our distractions, you must be very aware of them and follow these suggestions:

1.        Identify the type of distraction:

Distractions normally behave like noise in your mind and lead to not being able to concentrate 100% on the task or responsibility at hand.  This noise can come from your own thoughts, or from something or someone external.  Classifying that noise depends on its origin, duration, and intensity.

The most common and harmless one is white noise, and normally they are not things that are part of our conscious state, like having background music, the natural noises of your work space, the common smells in it, the intensity and color of the available lighting, and the people around you that are working on their own projects.  Our mind has the ability to get used to and ignore these kinds of things and depending on each person, sets parameters for what is “normal”, therefore this noise will be the one that affects us the least if it’s simply the usual one for each person, and if there’s a change, it will not create a significant reaction and will only distract us for a few seconds.

The next one is random noise, which is noise that can stop your focus temporarily, it can be a person asking you a question, talking with a friend, responding to a message, an email with a request, a change in the environment, a phone call and many more, however they are activities that take up a small chunk of our time, they are resolved quickly and then you come back to your normal state of focus, however, it’s possible that a person needs from a few seconds to minutes in coming back to totally focusing again on the activity they were doing.

Intense noise is a type of noise that completely breaks your concentration, it’s a noise that can be triggered by too many subconscious thoughts, or by external interruptions that need a high level of attention or response to them, within this classification we must also include the use of social media since even though they generally are not something urgent, they require a high level of attention and can make your concentration fall between 60 and 100%, coming back to your optimal attention level can take several minutes to reach the productive level of concentration for work.

The last one is extreme noise where concentration is completely and immediately interrupted, normally it’s triggered by an alarm, or a situation that will put you in a state of alert or risk your health in some way, they can include screams, explosions, or emergency alerts, this distraction will cost you from several minutes to even hours to get back to your optimal state of concentration, since your brain will  remain in a state of continuous alert.

2.        Prevent distractions:

As I told you at the beginning, distractions are not bad if they are planned, and being aware of them, since we can put a “do not knock” sign on our door, use earphones to reduce external noise, listen to soft and relaxing music so that our brain works better, and plan these lapses in work with a few minutes of rest so that our brain learns to have concentration cycles, these cycles will not only allow you to be distracted, they will also help you to concentrate quicker and boost creativity and find different solutions in a simple way.

3.        Plan distractions:

Be very aware of your ability to concentrate and schedule a time to deal with other people, use your social networks, and relax, this will help you be more efficient and to use the time to your advantage.  People who make themselves concentrate for long periods of time tend to distract easily and for longer periods of time, in addition, this practice often triggers mental blocks, frustration, and a bad mood when the environment is not conducive to this way of working.  There is a technique called Pomodoro that talks about dividing our working hours into 50 minutes of concentration and 10 minutes of rest, in order to properly stimulate the brain and thus work for efficiently.

4.        Identify what the cost of distractions is:

These days, companies face work challenges that require higher times of efficiency with many more distractions available than in previous generations, the internet, the cell phone, team work, multitasking groups and with different personalities, have made distractions something that’s right around the corner, these distractions cost us time, time to deal with them and time to go back to our normal task, and thus, money.

Studies show that people lose between 1.5 to 2.5 hours daily during their work day due to distractions, now multiply that by 5 or 6 days a week and by 52 work weeks, now translate those hours to your salary.  You could be generating a very high cost not only for your company, but also for you, you could be losing out in terms of overtime that’s not being paid, stress, health issues, and time that you could be spending doing activities that make you feel good and enjoy your life.

We suggest you follow these simple techniques to reduce and take advantage of distractions, this will help you be more productive, work in different ways, concentrate quickly, and enjoy your free time in order to do those things you enjoy the most.

© 2019, All rights reserved, Aldin Consulting Group, LLC.

Fernando Díaz Guerrero

[email protected]

www.aldingroup.com

www.accion-istas.com