Put Tek in its Place
Take for instance texting. We start to work and we get a text that ‘must’ be responded to immediately and we are distracted for only a few minutes – but – our train of thought and concentration sometimes takes much longer to return.
The same with email. How often are you working and email balloons keep popping up on your desktop. With mine it’s constant. Turning off the distractions allows us to accomplish things more quickly and with higher quality. While I’ve been writing I’ve had to resist the impulse to check my email. I’m not expecting anything from the President that I have to act on immediately to save the world as does Jack Bauer (24). There is nothing that can’t wait a couple of hours. My point is make sure technology serves you – not the other way around. Concentrating on work tasks provides a greater quality result and less stress on ourselves.
Dare to be Single Minded
One of the most popular buzz phrases is multi-tasking. People love to be thought of as multi-taskers like they are some kind of mental octopus. Try having a good conversation with a multi-tasker. Everything gets their attention and yet nothing gets their attention for long. How much better to take a step back and initiate focus on one thing at a time. When you are talking to someone – give them your complete attention – don’t be texting, emailing, doing paperwork or anything that shows that they do not matter or are deserving less than your full attention. Do a good job at it, complete it, then move on. Once again we will be doing better work, having better relationships and reducing the stress on ourselves.