Displaying All Posts tagged with distractions

Cubicle Hell: Dealing with Distractions in an Open-Office Environment

Janet Martin 18th July Office Life 15 Comments

    Are you in a cube farm or other open-office environment? If so, you know that no amount of snack machines, sofas, or fancy Herman Miller furniture can make up for the constant noise and interruptions.

    For many years I worked on a team of introverts sandwiched between two of my company’s most extroverted teams. Sitting out in the open with lots going on around me made it tough to be productive. Click Here to Read Article …

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    Where Do You Work Best?

    Susan Johnston 22nd June Productivity 20 Comments

      Some people need absolute, morgue-like silence to get real work done. Others are content to type away amidst chaos like chattering coworkers or screaming kids. As a work-at-home freelancer, I love being able to vary my work environment. It was tough when I had roommates who watched TV in my “office” (also a corner of the living room), but I managed to bang out dozens of articles, blog posts, and copywriting assignments.

      Now I alternate between rocking out to show tunes in my home office (blissfully devoid of coworkers or kids) or heading to the library or a coffee shop to change things up and be among other people. I’ve even been known to type on the subway with my netbook, but that’s far from ideal for me.

      What about you? What’s your ideal work environment? Does silence make you nervous? Do you need a little background noise? Or do you prefer peace and quiet? Click Here to Read Article …

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      Self-Initiated Productivity Killers

      Jason Finnerty 18th June General 13 Comments

        While we clearly discuss ways to be more productive here at WorkAwesome, we don’t often delve too much into the productivity killers that you bring on yourself.  I was thinking about this as I was enjoying the 10th round of solitaire on my iPhone, accidentally-on-purpose avoiding a looming deadline.

        It’s not that I didn’t want to do the job; I just didn’t really want to start.  The getting paid part of it was really great, and landing the project is always exciting.  The project itself…not so much.  So I found myself focusing my efforts on winning one more round.  And if it’s not solitaire, it’s crib – trying to get that elusive 29.  Curse you iPhone apps!

        So what do you do to avoid doing what you should be doing, and how do you get yourself back on track?

        Or am I the only one that does this? Click Here to Read Article …

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        3 Ways To Get Unstuck

        Mike Vardy 14th June Productivity 2 Comments

          Sometimes you just get stuck.

          Whether you’re a writer and you…just…can’t…find…the next thought or you catch a glimpse of the sunny skies outside your office window and you start to daydream, it happens.  The biggest step to moving ahead is to get “unstuck.”  Here are a few quick tips on how to get your mind on track and get back to the task at hand:

          1. Indulge

          Just go with it.  If you can’t stop thinking about next weekend, then don’t.  If you can’t get that next sentence on that report, then don’t.  Distract yourself, but do it productively.  Pick up the phone and make plans for the weekend.  If that next sentence won’t come out, then start to write about something else – make plans for what’s to come, perhaps.  Sometimes you have to indulge in what’s got you stuck before you can get out of it.  It’s like quicksand: the more you fight it, the quicker you’ll sink.

          2. Insist

          You can go the opposite way of indulging and insist you push through what’s on your plate.  It’s not the most pleasant way to go, but the short-term pain leads to long-term gain.  Think about what’s beyond the task at hand; that’ll help you get done what you need to now so that you can get to where you need to be next.

          3. Inquire

          Start asking yourself questions.  Does this “getting stuck” happen often?  Does it happen with just this type of work, or with a lot of what you do?  Sometimes searching for the answers to these initial questions will give you a lot of scope as to what really lies beneath.  Sometimes it’ll just get you moving again.  Sometimes it’ll get you moving on.

          Do you have strategies that you put into practice when you get stuck?  What do you do to get unstuck?  Let us know in the comments. Click Here to Read Article …

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          World Cup Productivity Watch

          Ana da Silva 14th June Productivity 18 Comments

            Except in the United States (for the most part), the World Cup is a huge deal.  My brother, for example, works for an American multinational in Brazil and the company had to bring in TV sets for workers to watch games lest half the office be out sick on game days.  It’s just the way it is there – we love football – and foreigners doing business with Brazil just need to adjust.  But if you’re the person trying to get some information from my brother while he and his co-workers are watching a game, you might get frustrated.  Who cares if they’ll make up for the work later, you need the numbers now!

            So, is the World Cup affecting your work?  If so, how are you dealing with it? Click Here to Read Article …

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            Keeping Track of Your Tech Devices

            Ana da Silva 10th June General 9 Comments

              Yesterday I realized that I had 5 portable devices to recharge and a drawer of tangled cables from which to get each of the 5 recharge cables (each device has its own).  My TV remote and cordless phone seemed to need new batteries and the hand held vacuum was out of charge, too.  It took me a good half hour to get everything all set and plugged in, by which time the cables were starting to tangle again.  It’s like I was having a close encounter with clutter of a third kind – a technological kind.

              How does everyone handle their technology maintenance?  Do you have a routine?  Have you found a way to keep devices, cables and batteries organized without spending too much time on it? Click Here to Read Article …

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              Multitasking: Friend or Foe?

              Susan Johnston 9th June Communication 22 Comments

                Recently, Harvard Business Review blogger David Silverman wrote a piece in defense of multitasking. Studies have shown that constant computer use, jumping back and forth between email and news sites and Facebook can lower our attention spans, decrease our productivity, and stress us out. But Silverman argues that multitasking is inevitable – as important as air.

                What do you think?

                I’m guilty of multitasking, but I’ll usually take the task into account. When I’m sorting through paperwork or cleaning out my email box, then I’ll often listen to a podcast or have a movie on in the background to lighten the mood. But when I’m working on something to send to a client, I know it needs my full attention (but I’ll keep my email open in case I get an update that’s relevant to that project).

                Do you focus on seeing one task through to completion or do you jump around? Do you batch process? Do you juggle multiple spreadsheets, Word docs, and browser windows or try to keep your monitor as simple and streamlined as possible?

                Any opinions for or against multitasking? Click Here to Read Article …

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                iPhone 4 Adds New Features – and New Distractions

                Peter North 8th June Communication 6 Comments

                  Editor’s Note:  Peter North, one of WorkAwesome’s newest contributors, is at Apple’s WWDC all week.  He’ll provide little snippets for our readers to digest over the course of the week – to pass on what Apple and its developer community has to offer in terms of making all of us more productive.

                  Apple recently revealed some remarkable new features on the new iPhone 4. Some of the most noteworthy features include sharper images, faster processing, longer battery life and video conferencing. It could clearly be a an asset for increased productivity…or a debilitating source of endless distraction.

                  Its new innovations are as concerning as they are impressive. Video calls sound like a great tool, but are you ready for impromptu face-to-face conferences with your boss? Having a phone with a longer battery life, a sharper screen and more computing power sounds great, but is having a “pocket office” a gift of a curse?

                  A phone with a 40-hour battery life, an HD video camera and a screen with over a half million pixels is practically like having super powers in your pocket. But, as they say, “with great power comes great responsibility.” It could help you be more productive than you’ve ever been, but couldn’t it also turn you into a stressed, snarling super villain? Click Here to Read Article …

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