3 Key Distractions That Kill Productivity

In order to be the most productive we can be and achieve the greatest success we can achieve, we have to be focused and committed to our work at all times. Unfortunately, it’s not that easy to remain focused and committed to our work each day due to distractions that occur. Each distraction that succeeds in diverting our attention away from our work causes us to be less productive than we should or expect to be. Learn about three key distractions that kill productivity below.

 

One key distraction that kills our productivity is email. Specifically, it’s the logging into our email accounts, getting a notification that we have an email, then our desire to check out what the email says. In truth, most emails are not THAT important to have to check out immediately. The few that are, those you can take a moment or so to review if needed, but the rest of them can wait until you complete the current task you are on, then taking a few minutes to go over email in between tasks, during lunch, or during a scheduled break.

 

A second key distraction that kills our productivity is social media. Like email, social media involves logging into our accounts, then getting a notification that we got a message or there’s new content that has been posted, and our innate desire to find out what that message or post says. This takes away our focus and time on the task we are currently working on, and, in most cases, the social media message or post can wait. Wait until a time when you are done with your current task or even after your workday is entirely over before you look at social media posts and messages.

 

A third key distraction that kills our productivity is worrying, especially about future tasks, family matters, etc. Worrying can cause us to lose focus and do lower-quality work because we are worrying about a future task and its difficulties that we are dreading to handle. Worrying can also be about issues away from work, such as at home with the family, etc. All types of worrying cause us to lose focus on our current task, which leads to us taking longer to complete it and becoming less productive in the process. This will only make our peers and superiors question our capability of doing high-quality work quickly and will only closed the door to greater opportunities and success we could have by being more productive.