Little Known Time Management Tools and Tricks which Drown Out Distractions

Sometimes the best tools are the ones that arent heard about when it comes to time management.  Read on for more.

Distractions make your workday much longer than necessary as they disrupt your thought process and flow of energy. Studies have found that people who get distracted take about 10-20 times the length of time of the disruption to recover their earlier level of concentration.

There are lots of time management mistakes that home-based business owners make that cost them hours of work time — procrastination, not concentrating, breaking the schedule, etc. Let’s narrow down the list and pinpoint the one thing that majority of work-from-home business owners really struggle with–unscheduled interruptions. Research confirms that people waste an average of more than two hours everyday on avoidable interruptions.

Try these tools and tips for drowning out distractions and keep the energy and thought process flowing. They may seem petty but every little bit can help increase productivity.

1. Block off or reroute digital signals. Yep, the digital devices are the number one distractions. Turn off your mobile phone, IM settings, Twitterrific, the automatic pop-up function in your email, or just forward calls to your voice mail. Get all similar tasks done all at once then move on to the next set. So, make major phone calls all at one time, check emails at set hours, and allot a fixed time to chat with people you really need to settle concerns with or update communications in all your social media business accounts.
2. Regulating email and SMS. You don’t really need to reply to all your emails or text messages. Skip those that just need a “thank you” or “okay” or “see you.” If you need to reply to an email or text message at length, call instead. This saves time and your thoughts are spoken straight out from the moment you think them.
3. Go “Invisible” on IM, Facebook, Google chat so everyone thinks you’re, offline but you can still contact the people you need. The “Busy” mode does not usually work as some inconsiderate people still choose to interrupt you.
4. Work some place else. That’s the flexibility of a work-from-home business. You can take work anywhere other than your home office. For some people this works. The change in setting stimulates creativity, recharging your thought process and energy level up to 50% helping you concentrate on work more. Try the coffee shop, the mall or in your parked car while waiting for your kid to end school. Also, the change in your routine can help sidetrack some people for awhile, giving you a bit more uninterrupted time to get some work done.
5. Drown out background noise like the sounds of the TV or radio by wearing earplugs, play instrumental music or use ChatterBlocker.com, a free download that plays out natural sounds to mask distracting noises.
6. Firefox LeechBlock is a free downloadable application that aids you in self-control. You can set it to block specified sites like Facebook or YouTube that can really eat up your time during periods you’re tempted to wander off from work.
7. Make a habit to jot down random thoughts. It avoids mind clutter and regulates your brain to focus on one idea at a time so you don’t get worked up on starting at every new idea every time they pop up in your head.
8. The Mac Isolator or Windows DropCloth are free downloads that help in visual distractions. You can blur out or completely hide from view all the other desktop and icons and focus on just the application you’re working on at present.
9. Avoid worry. Worry is an irritant. It increases stress levels and interferes with your normal line of thinking. It makes you more prone to sporadic work habits like indecisiveness, changeableness, unreliability. A daily To-Do list will help you center attention at the present time, the here and now. Finish the to-do list at the end of the workday so that it’s one task that will no longer distract you when you start work in the morning.

Distractions will always be present. But, there are few issues in business that are a matter of life or death, so it’s really okay if you’re not able to attend to all the concerns right away. Understand that if you let them, distractions can really take a substantial amount out of your working hours. Figure out what your distractions are and get to work managing them without delay.

There is much to learn about me and my website. When I’m not enjoying my life as a father, husband or son, I am a member of the fraternity known as “Major League Baseball” (MLB). Over the years I’ve been viewed around the circuit as an intelligent and committed businessman. So I often pride myself for being the multi-dimensional athlete that I am. Extremely grateful for the gift that God has given me, yet being keenly aware that I will not pitch forever. I choose to use my platform as a professional athlete to foster my growth, as well as the growth of others in the world of business. Jasongrilli.com serves as the connection of my business to yours.

Jason Grilli
Perfect Pitch Marketing Group
http://JasonGrilli.com
http://wildpitchmarketing.com

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Publish Date: 04/25/2010

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