Focusing at Your Computer
How to stay focused when you’re at your computer.
Today’s topic is how to focus at your computer. The quick and dirty tip is to plan ahead and don’t multitask!
Previously on Get-It-Done Guy, I covered dealing with distractions. But I’ve received several listener questions looking for more specific advice about how to stay focused at your computer. Harold, Heather, Devin, Coragyn, and Alejandra to name a few. Harold put it best:
I have a staggering amount of work that needs to be done at my computer. I often find myself with a few minutes to spare, and I gravitate toward my computer since I have so much work to do there. But then I sit down, check my e-mail, check a few websites that I check regularly, and then before I get any real work done I’m out of time.
The computer is the most complex device ever made. Isn’t that impressive? It’s a camera! No, it’s a stereo! No, it’s a game! No, it’s a typewriter! A calculator! A newspaper! A TV! It’s … my friend. We talk, we play together. I don’t need anyone else in the whole wide world.
And that is precisely the problem. The computer comes chock full of its very own distractions. And it entices us to lose the separation between work and play. It’s a giant mashup of everything. Kind of like all-in-one baby food for adults.
Separation Decreased Distraction
When tools were separate, we had to move from task to task physically. Listeners under 25 won’t believe this, but it’s true. To type a paper, we pulled our chair over to a thing called a “typewriter.” When we typed a wrong letter, we went to the supply desk, get out a little bottle of white paint called “correction fluid,” and deleted the letter by painting over it by hand. Then we’d blow on it and wait for it to dry. Spell-check was handled by a dictionary, (a book made out of paper) which sat five feet away on our bookshelf.
To talk to a friend, didn’t have “cell” phones, we had “tele” phones, and they were connected to the wall by a wire. We had to move to the “tele” phone and talk there. We sent messages by “mail” (no “e”), and paid 39 cents apiece to send them. They would arrive two days later. Our TV was in the next room, and so was the newspaper. You get the idea. This was pre-history, say, 1995.
Since tasks got done in different separate places, moving between tasks made us move physically. Not only was this a handy way to burn calories (we all looked like Greek Gods and Goddesses back in the good old days), but it made it expensive to switch activities. When distracting yourself takes more work than staying on task, the lazy path is to focus.
Separate Your Activities in Space
One way to stay focused at your computer is to return to the days when we were all Greek Godpersons. Find ways to impose separation between your tasks. These all require a bit of mental discipline. If you’re having trouble, join my next Action Day (a link will be in this episode’s transcript) and use it to start training yourself.
Unplug your Internet connection! You’re not allowed to plug it in until tomorrow morning. Since most distractions are Internet-related, this will force you to find some other way to use your time. Like, say, work.
Plan your computer usage. If possible, rearrange your office so your computer is far from all your support materials. Before stepping over to the computer, write down on a sticky pad exactly what the task is you’re going to your computer to do. Be specific and limit each activity so you know when you’re done. “Write 1 page of today’s report.” “Research 3 models of car to buy.” “Manipulate public opinion by spreading rumors about politicians I dislike for 15 minutes.” And so on.
Put the sticky note on the screen to remind you. Writing the task out forces you to be real with yourself. You’re allowed to play, just be honest. Write, “Read 3 meaningless blogs and indulge in 10 minutes of narcissistic Twittering with my so-called followers.” Then step away from the computer, back to your desk the moment the task is done. Even if you can’t move your computer, you still can plan your computer time. Just turn your chair away from the computer when you’ve met your goal.
Separate Your Activities in Time
Exit your applications when you’re done using them. If you leave applications open at all times, shut them down completely when you’re done using them, and don’t open multiple documents at once or multiple tabs in your browser. “But it takes so long to launch them,” you squeal in protest. Yes, it does. That’s the point. It turns an idle distraction into a conscious act of will. Besides, if you keep something open in the background, you’ll actually see it there and be reminded of it’s tempting goodness. Kind of like trying to diet with a big jar of delicious Hershey’s Dark Chocolate Kisses wrapped in shiny, glittery foil, nestled lovingly inside a candy dish on your desk. *Blissful sigh*
You can also put applications like your Web browser, multimedia player, and instant messenger inside a folder called “POTENTIAL TIME WASTERS.” Then every time you go to launch them, you’ll have to click through the folder name and be reminded.
Conventional wisdom would have you do all computer-related tasks at once. In a perfect world, that would work. In a world where the computer is a bigger distraction than it is a time-saver, plan your day to alternate computer-related task and non-computer related tasks. That way, when you’re done with your email, for example, you are forced leave the Device of Distraction to run out and buy that 60-pack of Twinkies for the office Christmas party. It may be only February, but Twinkies don’t really degrade.
This is Stever Robbins. Follow me on Twitter with FOLLOW GETITDONEGUY. This episode’s transcript at getitdone.quickanddirtytips.com has a link to the Action Day episode. Get the Get-it-Done Guy and other great shows from Quick and Dirty Tips streamed to your iPhone. Download Stitcher free today at Stitcher.com
Work Less, Do More, and have a Great Life!
RESOURCES:
end-procrastination-with-action-daysrastination-with-action-days.aspx Action Day episode
Stever Robbins Action Day – sign up to be notified of upcoming action days
Girl on Computer image courtesy of Shutterstock
About the Author
Stever Robbins was the host of the podcast Get-it-Done Guy from 2007 to 2019. He is a graduate of W. Edward Deming’s Total Quality Management training program and a Certified Master Trainer Elite of NLP. He holds an MBA from the Harvard Business School and a BS in Computer Sciences from MIT.
