Today is National Entrepreneur’s Day. Our good friends at Grasshopper posted a very long blog about it. We liked it, and have shared the most relevant points below when dealing with office distractions
1. Chatty McChattersons and Other Noise
It’s great to work with social butterflies, except when they distract you from getting your work done. Even if there isn’t one particularly chatty person, coworkers talking across the room can make it hard to focus, even if they’re talking about work. According to Inc., these sorts of interruptions make up a whopping 43% of office distractions.
Fix it: Invest in a really sweet pair of noise reduction headphones to block out noise and keep you in the zone. At Grasshopper, we have an open floor plan, so we swear by these!
2. Office Furniture
In order to get work done, you have to be comfortable. Tightness in your back and stiffness in your legs are totally distracting when you need to be writing code or perfecting a marketing email. It’s not worth suffering like this. With the right furniture, you’ll be way more comfortable and get lots more done.
Fix it: Invest in high quality furniture (it’s worth it!) and consider getting office-wide ergonomic training to make sure everything is set up just right. Also see: Jazz Up Your Home Office With 3 Tips For Success.
3. Email Interruptions
There’s a lot of talk out there about whether or not you should deal with email in the morning or set aside a specific time to check it later in the day. According to Buffer, almost all of the world’s top CEOs say they check email first thing in the morning. Perhaps it’s because they want to stay connected with their team and are way more productive than the rest of us…or maybe they’re on to something.
Fix it: Test out a few different strategies to find out what works for you. Spend one week taking care of emails first thing in the morning (and only first thing in the morning), as they come in, or at another specific time during your day.
