The Arena App Archives

December 7, 2018December 7, 2018

Simplify: Life and The Arena App

Preparation: Make it Simple

Now that we are officially into the last month of the year, time feels as though it is speeding up, and we have a limited amount of it to finish everything. While this is not actually the case, it doesn’t seem to make that feeling any easier to deal with. Between the busy holiday season and the end of the year, life has a tendency to feel overcrowded, overbooked, and overwhelming. But it doesn’t have to be. Taking the time to prepare yourself (and your schedule) for December can help simplify your life, and go a long way to keeping the month manageable and even enjoyable.

The best place to start simplifying your season is by making a list. Write as many things down as you know you need to do this month – parties, dinners, decorating, chores, shopping – and include dates if you have them. One important thing to remember here is to not let the length of this list trigger the overwhelm. Chances are it will be long and slightly detailed, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. The more you already know about a task on your list, the less you will stress about when something unexpected comes up.

Collection: Keep it Simple

Once you have your list in place, you can start entering these projects into the “Unscheduled” tab in Arena. As you edit each one, you can start to break each task up into smaller parts. The Arena App can help you with this, as each project entered gives you the option of creating a to-do list that can be tailored to your project. Arena also comes with pre-built checklists that can be edited to suit your needs. As you complete a to-do, you simply check it off your list; you can even see your progress along the outside of your Arena task bubble!

When entering a task or project into The Arena App, you will choose the effort, impact, and urgency of each in order to better visualize what you need to work on first. This helps simplify the choices you make when trying to decide where to start with your December list. Giving your largest project the highest amount of effort and impact will let you easily see what needs to be done first. If you don’t finish that particular project on the day it’s scheduled, it will simply move into your “Unscheduled” tab, and you can pull it back into your day as time allows. If you added a to-do list, Arena will keep track of your progress until it is complete.

Maintain Simplicity

As you progress through your list, you will find that some tasks are much easier than others. But keeping track of them all the same way, in the same place, will make your December run much smoother. No more worry about how many different to-do lists you had to make (one for year-end work wrap-ups, one for holiday home preparation, one for shopping, etc.) or losing your piece of paper half-way through a list. The Arena App can help you keep all of your projects and commitment for the season in one place, helping to simplify your life and giving you the peace of mind that you always know where you are on any given project.

December 3, 2018December 3, 2018

Don’t Break the Chain

Productivity Advice

Several years ago, comedian Jerry Seinfeld offered a piece of creative advice to another aspiring comic, Brad Isaac: The only way to be a better comedian is to write more, and the best way to write more is to write every day. But that isn’t where the advice ended. Seinfeld went on to share his method for motivating himself to write daily:

“He told me to get a big wall calendar that has a whole year on one page and hang it on a prominent wall. The next step was to get a big red magic marker.

He said for each day that I do my task of writing, I get to put a big red X over that day. ‘After a few days, you’ll have a chain. Just keep at it and the chain will grow longer every day. You’ll like seeing that chain, especially when you get a few weeks under your belt. Your only job next is to not break the chain.’

‘Don’t break the chain,’ he said again for emphasis.” (Isaac 2007)

Don’t Break Your Daily Accomplishment

The Arena App can also help you keep your chain intact. Though it may not have a big red “X” you can mark every day, you can easily create a project that recurs daily, assign it as many points as you want, mark it as Must, and feel the same sense of satisfaction when you move that task to your completed bar every day. With the Arena Accomplishments setting, you can even see scroll back through the days (weeks, months, years) to see every completed task!

Many people may feel that the main point behind “Don’t break the chain” is the large, visual reminder that you still need to complete your task for the day or risk looking bad when someone else sees your calendar. Though that part might only matter to some people (Upholders, Obligers), it still serves as a way to motivate you to complete a task. With The Arena App, you will still have that the daily visualization of the task – both waiting and completed – without worrying about someone else’s expectation (Upholders, Questioners).

Keep Going

The biggest thing to remember is the exercise itself: Pick a goal, do something on it daily, and represent that daily effort with whatever visualization works for you (and only you, Rebels). With the new year in sight, this might be the perfect time to check out a new system for tracking your daily projects, and see which one might be worth starting a chain. Even if it’s a small project, all that matters is you start. And then keep going. Don’t break the chain.

Trapani, Gina. “Jerry Seinfeld’s Productivity Secret.” Lifehacker. July 24, 2007. Accessed November 29, 2018. https://lifehacker.com/281626/jerry-seinfelds-productivity-secret.

November 27, 2018November 27, 2018

Using a List to Relax More This Holiday Season

We’ve all been there: You committed to way too many holiday parties, can’t remember who wanted Dare to Lead, only have time to put up the decorations in two rooms instead of the whole house, and made a to-do list, but it’s too late to start. So now what? You don’t want to spend the entire holiday season bouncing from one thing to another, but you want to make sure it still feels like a holiday with some level of calm. Keep reading for some things you can do this holiday season to help yourself track where you are amid the rush and how you can find some time to just relax.

Make a List

Though it may seem like a lot of work, the best thing you can do to help yourself through the holiday season is to sit down and make a list of everything you have to do. Shopping, cleaning, decorating, parties you want to attend, trips you plan to take, etc. For every item on the list, you should also include a by-when, so that you can prioritize what has to be done first. This will help you keep track of what has been completed and what still needs to be done, which will make your list more manageable.

Keep Tasks Small

Speaking of making things more manageable, a to-do list is a great way to keep a sense of calm in your holiday season. When you make your list, try to keep your projects and tasks small. Not only are they easier to start and finish this way, but it helps you avoid a sense of overwhelm. If you have time to finish 10 small tasks, you’ll still have a sense of accomplishment at completing the 10 things, even if they were just 10 small things (that happen to make up 2 larger tasks).

Delegate, Defer, Delete

Our third tip of delegate, defer, delete comes from David Allen’s Getting Things Done method. Though they are not worded quite this way in regard to a holiday context, the general idea is still the same. When delegating, do just that: Find tasks that someone else can help you with. Cleaning? Sounds like a good job for the teenager. Decorating? The whole family can help with that, whether you team up on every room or divide and conquer. As for deferring, is there anything at all on your list that could wait until after the holiday season? Maybe not, but it’s a good idea to at least take a look and decide if everything is a must. For delete, that’s more about what you might like to do – attending all the holiday parties you were invited to – vs. what you have time to do – only 2 of the parties will fit in your schedule comfortably. It might be a tough choice to make, but it will help ease some of the stress to look at your list and see what can be moved or removed.

Prepare

The holiday season has a way of being chaotic, no matter how well you prepare for it. But that doesn’t mean you should skip preparation completely. Set aside a little bit of time before things get too busy (usually early December), and think about what things are most important to you this year, and what things you might be willing to give up. Even this small step could help make your holiday season slightly more relaxing.

You may not be dozing-in-the-recliner-level relaxed, but you will probably be stealing-some-time-on-the-couch-reading-level relaxed. And sometimes that makes all the difference.

November 12, 2018November 12, 2018

Thanksgiving Planning

Whether you’re hosting Thanksgiving at your house or you’re packing up the car – and the kids, the pets, the kitchen sink – to travel somewhere else, this time of year can seem particularly hectic if you don’t plan ahead. Of course, there’s no guarantee that planning ahead will result in your desired outcome, but it could significantly improve your chances of having a smooth holiday. Keep reading for more information on how The Arena App can help you plan for whatever this Thanksgiving holds for you!

Thanksgiving: Planning a Trip

At first glance, the option to travel somewhere else for the holiday seems like the logical choice. No need to worry about cleaning your house, having enough place settings, where everyone will sleep, etc. However, this choice packs plenty of its own hang-ups, such as “What am I responsible for cooking?” “Should I bring my own ingredients?” “Will I be able to use the stove/oven?” “Are we sleeping at Aunt Julie’s house, or will we be with Uncle Tim on the other side of town?” “Should we just get a hotel room instead?” “Can we bring the dog?”

This list could go on for a while if you’re not careful. The Arena App can help you keep track of all of these questions, as well as everything you will need to do to prepare and pack for the trip. Our pre-built checklist – Planning for a Trip – will come in handy in this situation, and can be edited to suit your specific needs. You can also create your own checklist for all of those lingering questions you need to have answered in advance.

Thanksgiving: Hosting at Home

Having Thanksgiving dinner at your house can feel like a lot of unnecessary pressure if you don’t plan ahead. “Is my house clean enough? Who’s staying here overnight? What is Aunt Julie bringing? Is Uncle Tim even coming? Are people cooking dishes ahead of time, or will they need my stove/oven?”

The Arena App can help you easily manage all of these things as well. It may be beneficial to break up the planning into different projects (Guest List – Invites, RSVPs, dish requests; Cleaning – Laundry, dishware, house; Day of: Cooking list/times, table prep, clean up). Each project you create could then have its own checklist, to keep things more manageable. Or if you prefer to just have it all in one place, create a task for Thanksgiving Prep, assign yourself A LOT of points for it, and plug in your own custom-made checklist. This will help you stay on top of your to-dos for the day (and the days before) so that you can avoid rushing around at the last minute while trying to fit 6 casserole dishes in the oven.

Thanksgiving: Gratitude

No matter what your plans are for Thanksgiving, or how you choose to handle them, make sure to allow yourself time to appreciate the people around you. Pause, take a breath and enjoy the moment it all comes together. Whether you’re hosting Thanksgiving or hitting the road for the holiday, be grateful to those around you who helped the day come together.

Happy Thanksgiving!

November 7, 2018November 7, 2018

Zen to Done with The Arena App, Part 2

A Quick Recap

A few weeks ago, we posted Part 1 of our series on how The Arena App works with the Zen to Done (Babauta, 2011) method, covering the first tenants. This week, we’re taking a look at the remaining ones, and how you can use Arena to help keep you on task following Zen to Done. Keep reading for the other steps in ZTD, and how to best utilize The Arena App with them to help you have a better day!

Step 6: Keep everything in its place

Arena is structured to help you focus on today and tomorrow, so that you are only working on what is important in the moment. However, if your work week flows more smoothly when set before it even begins, Arena can help with that too. You will start by adding all of your big projects for the week into the Unscheduled screen. From there, you can move what you will be doing on Monday into the Today screen, and what you plan to work on for Tuesday will go into the Tomorrow screen. As the week progresses, all you will have to do is make sure you are pulling your tasks from Unscheduled into the correct days.

Step 7: Review the system and your goals weekly

The Arena App includes an option to see both your Accomplishments and your Insights, which track your most productive days and weeks in Arena. The Accomplishments view includes a bar graph so you can visually track your progress, and have a better sense of what your weeks look like overall. The Insights page includes your completion and productivity scores, both in overall averages and in highest singular days. If you find yourself with several projects left in the Unscheduled section, you may want to go back and evaluate if anything can be delegated, deferred, or deleted.

Step 8: Keep everything as simple as possible

This step is fairly easy to do in Arena. For each project you enter, start it with a verb, and only use a few words in the title. If you need more information about it, add the details into the note section of the project. For the more complex tasks, it might help to create a custom-built checklist to keep track of where you are in the project. Breaking your large project into smaller, more manageable tasks gives you a better starting/stopping point if you ever need to set the project aside for a bit to come back to at a later time.

Step 9: Set and keep routines

The Arena App can help you develop better routines for completing your day. Choosing your biggest projects based on impact and effort will allow you to prioritize the most important things first, leaving the time you have left to tackle the smaller things. Doing this daily (or even every few days) will help build your routine of focusing on the most important things first, and feeling at peace with what you did and didn’t accomplish for the day. Arena also allows you to choose if a task is repeating (and how often) so that you don’t have to enter it over and over again.

Step 10: Choose work about which you are passionate

Arena might not be able to help with this final step in the same way that it can the others. However, it might be able to help you realize that your current work is not your passion. If you find yourself procrastinating more and more on your project – even with the help of Zen to Done or The Arena App – that may be a good sign that you are not where you want to be. If your Arena analytics and insights are starting to slip, that might be a good time to take a look at your job, and see if A) things are slipping because you are lacking the support you need, or B) things are slipping because you don’t want to do them. If it’s the latter, it may be time to re-evaluate.

These are just a few ways that The Arena App can work with the Zen to Done method. Each user will have to tailor the steps to best fit their work style, but it can be easily done in Arena. Part 1 can be found here, and if you want to learn more about how The Arena App can help you win the day, find us on social media (@thearenaapp) and in The App Store and see how it can help you have a better day, every day.

Babauta, Leo. (2011). Zen to Done: The ultimate simple productivity system. Waking Lion Press.

October 22, 2018October 22, 2018

Zen to Done With The Arena App

Zen to Done

One of the biggest hurdles that many of us encounter in our days is the ability to just start a project. The methods of both Zen to Done (Babauta, 2011) and Getting Things Done (Allen, 2015 (2nd edition)) point out that most of the time, the largest part of a task is the start. If you can find a way to motivate yourself to start, you’ve completed half the battle. Of course, whatever task you start is bound to be time and energy intensive, but once you actually begin it, you may find that everything else just falls into place. This blog is the first in a series that will focus on how The Arena App works with the Zen to Done method. Keep reading for the first five tenants and the best way to utilize Arena with them to help you have a better day!

Step 1: Capture Everything

Babauta recommends carrying a small notebook to keep track of various things – ideas, notes, reminders, tasks – and then compiling them all into your overall system at a later time. This notebook could also be the notes app in your phone, or, if you’ve already planned out your day in Arena, you could simply open a project and record the necessary information into the notes section of that project. Whatever method you choose, maintain consistency in using it in order to help form the habit for yourself.

Step 2: Handle the Small Things as They Come

This step can be completed in a variety of ways, but most frequently, it is broken down into “Can it be done (in 2 minutes or less), delegated, deferred, or deleted?” If it can be delegated, make sure the proper people are notified, putting a note in your Arena project notes as well. If it can be deferred, simply move it to the Unscheduled section in your Arena screen, note the change in the deadline for anyone else involved in the project, and come back to it at a later date, when you have time to focus on the task.

Step 3: Set the Most Important Tasks Daily

Arena is specifically designed to help you plan your day efficiently and even allows you to do so the night before. This will help you have a better sense of where you need to start your day, as well as where the bulk of your focus will need to be. And to help you choose your project, Arena allows you to pick if you Must, Should, or Could work on it today. Arena is also designed for you to decide the impact and the urgency of a project, so you can easily see your 3 biggest projects for the day, as well as the smaller ones. Added bonus: the Calendar view lets you see all of your projects overlaid on your calendar, so you know the amount of time you have available to work on things.

Step 4: Do One Thing at a Time

Once you pick a project to work on in Arena, you can help yourself focus on it by setting a timer and working for the selected time. The best part is that you get to decide how much time to work: 2 minutes, 35 minutes, 60 minutes – it’s entirely up to you. If you only have 15 minutes to work on something before a meeting, set your timer and just do. Eliminate all of your distractions and work for the set time. You’ll be amazed at how much you can accomplish in that time, as long as you know you’re working on a deadline (self-subscribed, but still a deadline).

Step 5: Keep Your List Simple

This step focuses on simplicity: lists, projects, details, etc. In Arena, there are two ways to keep task lists simple: Must, Should, and Could distinctions, and the effort/impact of each project. If a project is labeled Must, you know it has to be done that day. If it’s labeled Could, you know it’s not essential to complete the project, but if you have, it can be done. Additionally, if the effort/impact amount for your project is 580, you know it needs to be completed. If the point amount is 45, you know it’s not essential that the task is completed today. This is a simple way to set your day up to know what is important, as well as what you have additional time for.

These are just a few ways that The Arena App works with the Zen to Done method. Each user will have to tailor the steps to best fit their work style, but it can be easily done in Arena. Part 2 of the blog series will be coming soon, but in the meantime, check out Arena on social media (@thearenaapp) and in The App Store and see how it can help you have a better day, every day!

Allen, David. (2015 (2nd Edition)). Getting Things Done: The art of stress-free productivity. New York: Penguin.
Babauta, Leo. (2011). Zen to Done: The ultimate simple productivity system. Waking Lion Press.

October 12, 2018October 12, 2018

Effort vs. Impact Feature Focus

Planning Your Day

Most productivity tips and practices encourage people to focus on 3 big projects to get done every day. And if you have some smaller tasks that need to be completed, it may be more helpful to roll them into one bigger task (though maybe not one of your 3 for the day), and just chip away at them at the same time. But then how does that look when you’re planning your day?

Impact and Effort

With The Arena App, every project you enter will be added on a scale of impact and effort. The best part? You get to say how much (or how little) effort and how big (or small) of an impact the project has when you enter them in for the day. The size of your bubbles will reflect the value placed on your tasks, and each task will then receive a point total. The higher the impact and effort, the more points a project is worth – and more points toward your Accomplishments bar once you complete your task!

Some people use this scale as a motivation tool for not only completing the project but sometimes just for starting it. If the project is not something you particularly want to do or are having trouble starting, increase the point total. Getting that high point total at the end of the day feels great, and knowing that you knocked out a big (or unpleasant) project along the way can make it even better!

Must, Should, Could

To help with the impact vs. effort decision, each project also comes with the option for Must, Should, or Could complete it today, which can also help you decide what to work on and when to work on it. For example, your 3 big tasks for the day would have higher point totals and the Must label. If you have smaller tasks, enter them in accordingly (or all as one, with a checklist to keep track of what you have completed), and choose either Should or Could so you know that not completing them won’t throw your whole day off.

The most important thing to remember when choosing impact vs. effort, and if you Must, Should, or Could complete a task is that you are the one who makes the decision. It’s all up to you – sure, maybe you have a deadline for your budget report (Must, 320 points), but once you complete it, you’re on your way to finishing your day strong. The appeal of Arena is that it doesn’t tell you what to do; it helps you focus more on what you know you need to do, which allows you to be in control of your day. Let The Arena App help you win the day, and gain the peace of mind that you did everything you could in the time you had.

October 5, 2018October 5, 2018

How Play Impacts Happiness

The Importance of Play

“All this thinking about fun made me realize that I had to make time for it. Too often, I’d give up fun in order to work. I often felt so overwhelmed by tasks that I’d think, ‘The most fun would be to cross some items off my to-do list. I’d feel so much better if I could get something accomplished’” (Rubin 122).

If you’ve been following our social media, you’ve seen our weekly posts asking, “What would you do with more time in your day?” and the accompanying photos of enjoyable activities people partake in when they have free time. We decided that this was an important focus for The Arena App: it is designed to help you move through your day more efficiently, freeing up time for you to do the things you want to do, not just the things you have to do. Additionally, we are fans of author Gretchen Rubin and her book The Happiness Project. In the book, there is a chapter titled “Be Serious About Play;” we chose to tie the two concepts together – the free time that Arena brings to your day and the impact of play on happiness. Keep reading for our thoughts on how important play is in getting your work done.

What is Play?

For the chapter, Rubin works with the definition of “…play – that is, the activities I did in my free time because I wanted to do them, for their own sake, for my own reasons, and not for money or ambition” (Rubin 112). In a world where people tend to focus on being productive – or, at the very least, staying busy – sometimes we forget to make time for things we enjoy. And not just what other people consider to be fun; you have to find what you think is fun. Rubin suggests employing a fun test, which contains three simple things: “You look forward to it; you find it energizing, not draining; you don’t feel guilty about it later” (Rubin 116). For some, this could be an activity as simple as taking a walk or reading a book; for others, it may involve learning a new skill, such as playing an instrument or taking a cooking class. The most important thing is that it’s enjoyable for you, and gives you a chance to focus on something other than work or family or you know…real life.

Currently, our society seems to be focusing on the ability to get as much as possible done in the smallest amount of time. With this focus comes the overarching question, “How do you ‘make time’ for the things you find fun?” It’s true that some days feel like there is no end to the list of things you need to do. But what if you didn’t actually have to do all of those things? There are a few methods that encourage you to focus your day on the largest projects you need to complete (Zen to Done, The 4-Hour Work Week). With The Arena App, as you enter your tasks for the day, you assign them along a scale of impact and effort, as well as the urgency for each. This gives you a better sense of what you know must get done today, and what you should/could work on if you have time. Once you have completed your day, you have time to focus on the things you want to do, which might even include something fun!

The Value of Play

“I saw that there was value in taking time to play…” (Rubin 131).

Some people may see fun as frivolous and unproductive; why should I waste my time doing something that won’t yield any viable results? Just because you may not be able to see the outcome of doing something fun and enjoyable doesn’t mean that there isn’t one. There may not be a goal or a finish line to a fun activity, but it will pay off. You may find yourself feeling more relaxed and energized after spending time doing an activity you enjoy, which can even lead to more productive workdays. So take the time to find something that is “satisfying, has no economic significance, doesn’t create social harm, and doesn’t necessarily lead to praise or recognition” (Rubin 113). You’ll thank yourself later.

Rubin, Gretchen. The Happiness Project. New York, NY: HarperCollins, 2009.

September 28, 2018September 28, 2018

How to Manage Your Day With The Arena App

Manage Your Day

One of the best suggestion for organization and productivity is to manage/keep track of your tasks in as few places as possible. The Arena App is best used in conjunction with an overall task list so you can see the big picture as well as the daily breakdown. This gives you a better sense of what your most important tasks for the day are, and where you can fit in the smaller to-dos. Keep reading for some ways that Arena can help you better manage your day!

The Arena App is designed to manage your day with as little effort as possible: enter in your projects, meetings, tasks, etc., every day, so you can see what needs to be completed today in order to produce the most impactful outcome. Arena has both a Play view and a Calendar View; Play allows you to see your tasks with their impact/urgency (more information below) altogether, while the Calendar View lays your tasks for the day over your existing calendar. This is incredibly beneficial, as it allows you to see the amount of time you have available for things, as well as how much time a task might take. You can even move the tasks around in the Calendar View, if you have a preferred time for working on a project or if you know you have to complete that financial report first thing in the morning.

Manage Your Urgency

When you first enter your projects for the day, The Arena App lets you choose the impact, effort, and urgency of each one. For urgency, Arena defaults to the Should distinction so that users don’t feel like they have to do everything today, though Must and Could are also available options. The focus should be on what you know needs to be completed today, rather than what you would like to complete today. Once you choose the urgency, you can then choose the level of importance your project has, in terms of impact and effort. These can be decided based (again) on what you know you need to do. However, some users assign higher point totals to projects they don’t particularly enjoy doing as a way to motivate and reward themselves.

Additional Features

One great feature within The Arena App is the project checklists, both pre-built and self-curated (for more information on the Arena checklists, check out our blog post). Checklists can be added when you are either entering or editing a project and will appear when you open your task bubble. You can even add, delete, or rearrange tasks on any pre-built checklist to better suit your project’s needs. Arena even tracks your progress through the list on the outside of your project bubble as you check items off the list, so you can get a sense of how far along you are with just a quick glance.

The Arena App also comes with a timer feature (more information can be found here) that can be used when you work better with a deadline, or if you are struggling to focus on a project. The timer is designed to work best in the same way you do; the user can choose how much or how little time is needed, and just get started. Since starting a task is sometimes half the battle, you’ll be amazed at how much you can get done when you know you only have 20 minutes to work on something!

Have a better day, every day

The Arena App is designed to help your day run as smoothly as possible. And while that might not always be in your control, you can easily get back on track with Arena. The appeal of this app is that it doesn’t tell you what to do; it helps you focus more on what you know you need to do, which allows you to be in control of your day. Let The Arena App help you win the day, and gain the peace of mind that you did everything you could in the time you had.

September 21, 2018September 21, 2018

Tips to Eliminate Distractions from Your Day

The Distraction Loop

It happens to the best of us: You’re plugging along in your workday, finishing tasks left and right, when all of a sudden your email notification dings..then dings again. And then Slack alerts you that someone sent a message. Suddenly, you find yourself lost in a notification loop, and you can’t seem to get out of it in order to get back to work. As technology advances, so does the ability for someone (or something) to get in touch with you at all times of the day. This also creates the possibility of unlimited distractions in your work, which cuts down on your ability to be productive. Keep reading for some of the ways you can start to eliminate distractions from your day.

Cell Phone Distractions

Today, a lot of the distractions we encounter come from our cell phones. A majority of apps available come with push notifications, which send a direct alert to your phone when something happens in the app. Typically, these are automatically turned on too. As a way to keep these interruptions to a minimum, as soon as you install an app, turn off the push notifications. If you don’t want them off entirely (i.e., it’s nice to be notified outside of your working hours that someone re-Tweeted you), you can look around in the app’s settings to see if there is an option to control your notification hours. This will help decrease the number of times you pick up your phone to check what app just made that noise.

Another solution to your app-distraction issue is to remove all social media apps from your phone. This will help keep you from mindlessly scrolling through your feed to see what everyone you know (and many you don’t) is up to the moment your focus is pulled from your work. Though it may seem a bit extreme, you will eventually break the habit of aimlessly picking up your phone.

Endless Emails

Now, about those emails. Often times, people have a tendency to reply to emails very soon after receiving them. This can lead to multiple interruptions throughout your day, depending on how many messages you receive. One way to help eliminate this distraction is to turn off your email notifications, and set aside a certain time or times in the day to check your email. 15-25 minutes could be enough, or maybe two separate 20-minute blocks to read, respond, and record any actions from the emails could significantly help you remove some of the distractions from your day.

Office Distractions

If you are in an open-office setting, accumulated noise from around the workplace could create distractions without anyone realizing it. If you are in a job that allows you to wear headphones (or some kind of ear covering), this could help you eliminate some of the background noise from your day. Alternately, if you are fortunate enough to have an office with a door, you could simply close your door for parts of the day. An important thing to remember here though is to inform your co-workers as to why you are working with your headphones on or your door closed. As with email, you could implement the times of the day when you leave your headphones off or your door open for people to drop by and discuss projects or ideas.

These tips are designed to be adjusted to best suit your work style and can be used individually or mixed together. The important thing is that you recognize when your distractions are happening, and what is causing them. Once you know that, you can decide which technique might be best for you and work on eliminating the distractions in your day.