Studies show workers are interrupted every three minutes and five seconds and it takes up to 23 minutes and 15 seconds to get focused again. And that was before remote work was the norm. It’s probably a safe bet to say those numbers are even higher when you’re working from your couch. Here are some ways to fight back and improve your time management skills.
- Revisit Your Calendar.The first step to knowing where all your time is going is tracking it, and there’s no better place to start than your calendar. Deep dive into your schedule and find out where your time is better spent. For example, how many of those weekly meetings could be turned into emails? Remember, even the smallest of interruptions add up!
- Stop Switching Between Tasks.The thing about multitasking is it simply doesn't work. Concentrate on one task at a time, and eliminate as many distractions as you can to give yourself the best chance of entering the “flow state.” Psychologists Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi and Jeanne Nakamura describe this as the feeling of being fully immersed in whatever you are doing. It’s something that’s hard to achieve nowadays but not impossible.
- Hold Yourself Accountable.If you’re working from home, unless you’ve got roomies cool with calling you out for slacking, you’ve simply got to get in the mindset of holding yourself accountable. Find a schedule that works, and stick to it.If that means taking away your own TV time or putting yourself in time-out when you screw up, so be it.
Source:Fast Company