Productivity, Distractions, and Finding My Own Way of Dealing

The other day, I read yet another article about how to avoid distractions and get work done. It was very similar to the other dozen or so articles I’ve read about this troubling topic. I’m sure I’m not the only one who’s tired of reading the same tips over and over, but this time, I was inspired to write my own commentary about the how and why as well as some of my own trials and tribulations on productivity and dealing with distractions.

The interwebz.

What is now a nearly incomprehensible amount of information is literally at our fingertips. It plays right into how fast human brains can think, our thirst to have questions answered, and our proclivity to want things right now.

Since I essentially make my living off of the web, I’m one of those people who has been connected for quite a long time. I can’t recall the exact year I consciously acknowledged how I was sliding down the virtual slope with the rest of connected humanity. I noticed how impatient I would get in everyday life situations such as being stuck in traffic, waiting on hold on the phone, waiting in checkout lines, sitting through commercial breaks during television shows, or waiting for a pot of water to boil.

I can’t tell you how many times it ran through my brain that I could be more productive if, during all those pesky wait times, I could be checking email, looking things up, or working on a project.

When I’m on my desktop computer, I have 2 browsers open with at least a dozen or more tabs each. I’m checking email, I’ve got Photoshop, Dreamweaver, Illustrator, Word, CuteFTP, Calendar, and an instant messenger app all open. On top of it, there’s also about 3 or so open folders at any given time.

I started to question, “How did it come to this … and what do I do about?”

Multitasking.

There’s a cult we’ve all been led to believe is worth joining: the cult of multitasking. For years people elevated this ability to rockstar status. People who could do multiple things at a time wore the label as a badge of honor. The internet has been right there to play into this too. It’s so easy to open your web browser whenever something you want to look up pops into your head. It’s also very easy to have 37 tabs open before you really realize it.

Warp up to right now and it’s been slowly dawning on people (and science has helped back this) that humans aren’t really cut out for multitasking in the truest form. Oh sure, we can have multiple tasks going on, but how much actual attention is each one getting? You don’t have to be a math expert to know that it’s not 100%.

We have seemingly become unable (or at least find it difficult) to concentrate and focus on a singular thing at a time.

So what happens when you’re not totally focused on one task at a time? Well, you’re not doing your best work, that’s for sure. In fact, a lot of times, you’re screwing stuff up and your concentration train is going further and further off the rails.

Productivity.

Along with multitasking, we’re now starting to think that if we aren’t doing something (or several somethings) deemed to be productive at any given time, we’re totally failing. I was right there, while watching that pot of water boil, thinking I wasn’t being productive enough. It’s not just me either. I’ve talked to friends who are also feeling the stress of, “not being productive” and are looking for either ways to be more productive, or for answering the questions of why they feel the need to be so productive all the time.

There are now apps or software that prevent you from doing things such as surfing the web, checking your email, or turning to your smart phone every spare moment that something else isn’t happening. So the answer that people have come up with for not being able to concentrate is basically, “There’s an app for that.”

Why apps aren’t the answer … for me at least.

They’re basically like little digital crutches. I’ve tried them. Over time I’ve tried time-limiting apps, alarm apps, apps that prevent you from going to certain sites, list/to-do apps, the one that starts to turn your screen darker at night, and probably a few more I’m forgetting. None have really helped me.

I’m sure part of it is I’m also a stubborn contrarian. I really don’t want an app telling me what to do. I would rather be able, on my own, to make a decision and have willpower.

I also personally believe that I shouldn’t rely on more technology. Technology is what got me here, and expecting that it’s going to undo what it did is not realistic. The other thing is, I’ve got to still be able to get the work done that I need to do every day.

My typical work day …

Most of what’s in those articles I’ve read on avoiding distractions and being productive during the work day are too broad and general. There may be tips some people can use, but it doesn’t work for my position as Creative Director at a small design agency.

One of the favorite tips I see over and over is to only check your email once or twice a day (or even less). If I did that with my team (who all work remote, except for 3 of us in the office) and my clients, things would fly off the rails quickly. I also get new job quotes via email. All day long, I need to be available to either give direction, answer questions, or field new inquiries. You could say I could hire someone else to check my email, but as a small company, that’s not feasible at the moment. So that tip is out completely for me.

Actual design work is something I enjoy and still do frequently. So the next popular tips about having only one program open at a time or disconnecting from the internet don’t work either. I’ll have Photoshop open to work on a design concept. While I’m working on that concept, I may need to have Word open to pull client text into it. I’ll also need to have the internet available for various reasons while designing such as, checking a client’s existing website (if they have one), grabbing some svg icons or stock images, or checking for responses or files in our online project management system. If I’m coding html and css I’ll often have my FTP program open so I can upload and test on actual browsers or devices and that also requires the internet to be connected.

The key to it all and putting it into practice...

It’s really about experimenting. I wouldn’t know the apps didn’t work for me unless I tried them. I’ve also tried not checking my email every hour and while on some days I can get away with it, some days it’s a disaster so I’ve learned to work around that and not let it eat up my entire day. I’ve also learned that I can’t just unplug when I do creative work.

However, I still struggled with distractions. So I knew I needed to continue to experiment and make more adjustments.

Here are some things I’ve had recent success with…

Getting up early. No, I’m not a morning person. Is this a struggle? You bet! Especially since I’m not a coffee drinker. I do have my own morning ritual though and I’m not sacrificing that. I’ve just endeavored to begin it all at least an hour earlier than I normally do. I get up. I do Qi Gong. I get dressed. I might make some tea, then I go up to the office and turn on the computer.

“Deep Work”. I stumbled on this concept more recently and, in a nutshell, it’s basically just finding a time (or setting aside a time) where you can shut out all other distractions and concentrate on a single, cognitively demanding task. For me, that task is usually writing or design work. I don’t open email or any messenger app during this time. My first foray into this was just last week and it did work, but only because I did get up early and get into the office about an hour and a half before my day would normally start. I had previously tried to work on these demanding tasks during work while I have a dozen other things to do, or after business hours. After business hours was even worse because after already putting in 8 hours, I found that motivation is an even bigger struggle when I’m tired and would rather be doing other things for myself.

Needless to say, when you’re tired and already put in a full day, you’re certainly not doing your best work either. So it’s probably not the best time for deep work.

Putting on headphones. I’m not sure why this works so well, but when I put on headphones (whether I have music playing in them or not) it helps me focus. It could be because it’s a small barrier to the outside world, or it could simply be that my brain has decided that’s the “it” thing for better concentration while I sit at the computer.

If you struggle with distractions and not feeling productive enough, the best advice I can give is do your own research and try different things. If something doesn’t feel right in your work flow or doesn’t seem to work for you, don’t force it, but don’t give up either. It may take awhile before you find the things that do work.