11 Ways to Limit Distractions and Do Your Best Work

Stop Feeling Held Back By Distractions

Do you feel as if workday distractions are depleting your productivity? Are you getting less and less done as you're pulled in more and more different directions? If so, you are not alone. As outlined in this article, "on average, most of us experience one interruption every 8 minutes or approximately 6-7 per hour... The average interruption takes approximately 5 minutes, (and) research has shown that, for every interruption, it takes an average of 25 minutes to fully regain your cognitive focus." Wow! That could mean 210 minutes or 3.5 hours of time wasted each workday, driving you further from meeting your goals.

With the negative impact of interruptions throughout the workday, it is important to take steps to eliminate distractions. Here are 11 suggestions of easy ways to get you started:

• Break projects into bite-sized actions. Then, you can feel empowered to complete each task in a single work session.

• Utilize a timer. Some folks use a timer to just get started, setting it for 15 minutes and capitalizing on that momentum to keep going towards completion of the task at hand. Other folks like using a timer to stay on track, setting it for different intervals during however long the task being done should take and making certain to still be working on it at the end of each interval. With either option, it's a powerful productivity tool.

• Wear noise-reducing headphones. Particularly when you focus on strategic thinking or creative production, wearing noise-reducing headphones can block out what's happening around you, even if not playing any sort of music at all.

• Turn off the pings and dings of tech-related notifications. Set your smartphone to silent and remove the vibrate that goes with silent mode. Stop the pop-ups telling you when you get a new comment on social media. Deactivate previews of newly received email messages. Instead, schedule times for handling calls, social media and emails. Then, for folks that do require an immediate response, like key account clients or your direct supervisor, make them VIPs so you can utilize Do Not Disturb on iOS and Priority Mode on Android.

• Be realistic about task management. While we all wish we were superheroes, we are humans that can only accomplish so much each day; unforeseen items are going to pop-up and need your attention. Therefore, schedule only 3-5 "must do" items each day, and make sure that each "what" which must be done is assigned a "when" for getting it done.

• Schedule "office hours" during your day. In these blocks of time, you can focus exclusively on assigned projects while blocking out distractions... Tell others you will be available before and after these times; then, during this timeframe, send calls to voice mail, don't check emails and hold off on answering knocks at your door. It is as if you are away in a meeting, but you can attend more intently to the work that must be done.

• Limit the impact of drivebys. If you have an extra chair in your office, make sure it has something resting in it to keep others from plopping down into it or position it somewhere more difficult to access. When someone comes into your office without an appointment, stand up and move towards your door, conveying to the visitor that it's not a convenient time. Keep an outbox near your office door so you can take those items down the hall as someone is coming to your office, always encouraging those that make unplanned visits to schedule an appointment. You want to help them, but it has to fit in your schedule such that it supports your workflows and productivity.

• Make sure your scheduled tasks fulfill your goals. Burnout comes from actions being out of alignment with your priorities and can certainly derail your productivity, limiting focus and making you more susceptible to distractions. I find it helpful to regularly audit how my actions align with my priorities.

• Work remotely when you most need to focus intently. While a library might help, research shows that a coffee shop can act as "white noise", enabling you to block out everything around you. New surroundings can boost your concentration.

• Reward yourself for successes. While we live in a "do, do, do" society, it is difficult to stay motivated to keeping achieving when we fail to celebrate each achievement. No matter how small or large is the carrot you dangle in front of yourself, having something to look forward to upon competing the task at hand makes it easier to stay focused.

• Practice mindfulness. For some, this means doing one thing at a time with complete focus. For others, this means being fully present in the moment, no matter whether in a meeting or working on the computer. Yet, for different folks, this means scheduling more intense tasks for when you have your peak energy, whether you are a morning person, a night owl or someone that uses caffeine for top focus in the mid-afternoon.

How do you keep yourself organized, focused and productive amidst all of the distractions? With what distractions do you struggle the most? Do you use any of these tactics already?

Top 10 Tips for Getting from "To-Do" to "Done"

Tips To Mark Tasks Off Your List

Whether for our occupations, running our homes, volunteer work or helping take care of those we love most in our lives, most of us have an endless list of tasks that must be completed… Yet, how can we best move those actions from “to-to” to “done” status? Here are a few useful tools and tactics to make that process a little easier.

1. When faced with a task, decide if you should "discard", "delegate", "delay" or "do" the action... Not everything must be done, and those that truly must be done don't always have to be completed by you.

2. Consider options like eLance, Fancy Hands, Fiverr, Task Rabbit and Thumbtack to outsource what others can complete more quickly than you can or to open time in your schedule for attacking other to-do items.

3. Strategize on what tasks can be automated via If This Then That, Podbox or Zapier; program them into the selected solution so you can move on to something else that needs your attention.

4. Be realistic about what can be accomplished on any given day... Narrow your running to-do list into three to five tasks per day of your week; then, start each of those priorities with a verb to drive action.

5. Remember that every “what” assigned a “when” is more likely to get done. Since I've yet to find a calendar that includes “someday”, be specific about when each action will be completed and schedule enough time to make progress.

6. Complete a weekly strategy session before each week to create a game plan for (a) what carries over from the prior week, (b) what upcoming appointments require preparation and (c) what tasks must be done when. Keep in mind the importance of scheduling what’s important but not urgent related to your goals.

7. Consider an electronic task manager app because it will offer reminders, allows undone tasks to more easily carry over to later dates and can have recurrences scheduled, like Any.Do, Carrot, Remember The Milk, Pocket Informant or Wunderlist; however, know that paper lists can work if that is more in line with your personality and your workflow, particularly for those that are not mobile workers. While the options are endless, the priority is that you get things done.

8. Break larger projects into smaller, more manageable tasks to be done individually, eliminating procrastination from overwhelm or not knowing where to start. When handling many large projects, try adopting a project management tool, like Asana, Azendoo or Mavenlink.

9. If you’re having trouble getting tasks done, utilize a timer… Once you get rolling, you might not stop, you can do anything for 15 minutes or so, and shorter times can lead to an extra burst of energy.

10. Always keep in mind that your overall well-being is very instrumental for your productivity: be sure to exercise, eat well (starting with a good breakfast), get enough sleep for your needs, take time for massages and incorporate positive music in your workspace.

What have you found most helpful in your attempts to mark things off your to-do list? What tactics do you utilize for finishing tasks?

How Mobile Professionals Sync Email, Contacts, Tasks & Calendars Across Devices to be More Productive

Busy professionals in today’s workforce are expected to be available 24/7, and mobile devices make it possible to work on-the-go. Whether at home, in a vehicle, working from the airport, in a coffee shop, meeting with a client, staying at a hotel or somewhere in between, a mobile worker needs to be able to deliver the same level of customer service and quality work at all times, which involves heavy phone usage as well as reliable access to the Internet, your email and what resources are available in your office. Still, whether you prefer Android, Blackberry, iPhone or Windows for your smartphone, it is valuable only when you sync your email, contacts, tasks and calendars across your various devices, which can be rather challenging, particularly for those using Outlook as the central hub for email, contacts, tasks and calendars.

There are two standard email protocols for pulling your email from the email server to whatever tool you are using to manage your messages: POP (Post Office Protocol) simply downloads email to your computer and, usually, deletes the original message from the remote server. When using POP across more than one device, you have to delete or file each individual email on every device; plus, none of the folders created on one device show on any other devices. Alternatively, IMAP (Internet Message Access Protocol) allows users to store their email on remote servers, which is a two-way protocol that allows for synchronizing email across multiple devices. A simple search of “POP versus IMAP” on your preferred Internet browser can outline the numerous differences. Yet, the conundrum related to syncing your email across devices, including Outlook, can be resolved simply by switching your email account from POP to IMAP, and you can find step-by-step instructions to walk you through this process online at http://www.pop2imap.com/how.php.

When talking about options for syncing, that related to contacts and calendar requires a different approach. If you are using exclusively Apple tools, meaning you are syncing between a MacBook laptop, iPhone, iPad and Mac desktop computer, all of your contacts and calendar events will sync seamlessly by using iCloud; however, if you are syncing any of these Apple iOS mobile devices with Outlook on your MacBook laptop or Mac desktop computer, it will require a third-party tool. One excellent option for syncing Outlook with your iPhone, iPad and iPad Mini is Sync2, and you can learn more about how this works as well as download the tool by clicking here. Another excellent option for syncing Outlook with your iPhone and iPad is CompanionLink, and you can learn more about what this will sync between devices as well as how to set it up by clicking here.

To sync contacts and calendar from an Outlook account to your Android, Blackberry or Windows device or between various PC computers can be a little more complicated than using iCloud for Apple-only devices. Until August 1, 2014, you might’ve been using Google Sync to complete such data transfer; although that is no longer an option, there are several third-party tools that can help… 
- CompanionLink syncs Outlook data wirelessly through Google’s services or via a WiFi network through the DejaOffice suite of apps. Private records may be password protected and encrypted, providing the highest level of security available, and updates are free for life.
- Sync2 synchronizes your Outlook calendar, tasks and contacts with Google calendar, tasks and Gmail contacts, which, then, can synchronize with your Android device’s calendar and contacts, and Android users add a Google account when first setting up the phone. 
- Funambol Sync offers open source options. From this site, simply download whichever client applies to your tools and devices; then, once install is complete and the Funambol Outlook Sync Client opens, configure your sync settings under Tools and Options.
- HyperOffice provides a powerful alternative to Microsoft Exchange… While it can include many other collaboration tools, HyperOffice can sync documents, calendars, contacts, projects and tasks for teams or individuals alike. Compare its pricing options by clicking here.
- The Missing Sync from MarkSpace connects your Android, iPhone or Palm smartphone with your PC or Mac computer. For Android, it is exceptionally robust, including Outlook, Address Book and iCal, providing options via Bluetooth, WiFi or USB to transfer and sync data.

While the aforementioned tools of CompanionLink, Sync2, HyperOffice and MarkSpace offer options to sync your tasks from Outlook across various mobile devices, there are also plenty of task-focused apps available to help. First, remember a project is a compilation of tasks that are necessary for achieving a major undertaking while a task is a clearly defined piece of work for which a specific individual is held accountable. Second, the benefits of tracking tasks electronically include (1) automatic carryover for any items left incomplete following their scheduled due dates, (2) reminders that pop-up to nudge you in completing the action required and (3) easily scheduling completion of the designated task to recur at specific times in the future. With that in mind, applicable tools for syncing tasks across devices include Any.Do, Remember The Milk, Pocket Informant as well as Wunderlist. Applicable tools for syncing projects include Asana, Mavenlink and Teamwork PM. See which option best meets your needs and implement fully.

Alternatively, if you are looking to sync Outlook between two computers (like between your PC and that of your assistant, your spouse or your business partner), CodeTwo Outlook Sync enables you to sync Outlook calendars, contacts, tasks, email and documents between those two selected computers. If you are looking to sync Outlook calendars, contacts and tasks with the iCloud system on your iPhone, iPad or Mac, CodeTwo Sync for iCloud works well. Still, if you are looking to sync tasks from Outlook to your Android phone, SymTasks offers a great option for bridging data; adding SymTasks Outlook Sync to your computer will sync your Microsoft Outlook Tasks over to a SymTasks app on your Android device.

One word of caution… If you are on an exchange and, thereby, need a tool for syncing only tasks (not calendars or contacts), please pay close attention when establishing your settings, making sure to check off tasks for activation while not checking either contacts or calendar. Each tool that covers all three of those options will allow you to pick and choose which of the syncing tools you’d like activated; just be clear upfront about what you need from the set-up.

Finally, before you download and install any of the outlined options, review the associated privacy policy, making sure you are comfortable with what it outlines and that it meshes with what your company has outlined for records management or confidentiality guidelines.

Have you better optimized your productivity by syncing email, contacts, tasks and calendars across your various devices? If so, with which have you had the most success?