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Every distraction or interruption that derails your productivity can be sorted into one of four categories, depending on whether the distraction is annoying or fun and whether or not you have control over it. In stepping back from my own distractions and interruptions, I’ve come up with different tactics for how to deal with these four different types of attention hijackers.
Here’s a chart that illustrates this idea that I’ve adapted from my book Hyperfocus:
Let’s start with the distractions we can’t control—the top row of the grid. It’s helpful to realize we can’t control many of the distractions that come up—some of which are annoying (office visitors, loud colleagues, required meetings) and others that are fun (a coworker asking if you’d like to join the team for lunch).
The key to dealing with these derailments isn’t to prevent them from happening. Their very nature prevents you from doing so. Instead, it’s up to you to change how you respond—quickly getting back on track after annoying interruptions, and enjoying any fun interruptions that happen to arise:
Thankfully, the list of distractions we can control is much longer. It includes emails, phone calls, audible and vibrating alerts, text messages, social media, news websites, and the Internet.
The solution to these distractions is simple: eliminate the interruptions ahead of time. For example:
- If you frequently put off important tasks while on the internet, disconnect while doing your most important work (an underrated focus tactic).
- If checking email eats away at your productivity or email alerts prevent you from focusing on your work, turn off those beeps and bloops. Also consider turning off new message notifications that pop into the corner of your screen as you’re working.
- Schedule a few windows throughout the day to intentionally check your email instead of checking it habitually.
Most distractions are easier to deal with in advance compared to as they come up. The reason we often fall victim to fun (or stimulating) distractions is simple: in the moment, we see distractions as more alluring (albeit less productive) than what we ought to be doing. Clearing these distractions ahead of time gives us the focus we need to stay on track. As a result, we procrastinate less and accomplish more of what we want.
The next time you get distracted or interrupted at work, ask this question: Was the interruption within or outside your control? Next time, can you deal with the interruption ahead of time to reclaim some productivity? Can you change how you deal with the distraction the next time or get back on track quicker?
Not all work distractions and interruptions are within your control, but many are. It’s worth dealing with them accordingly.