• Sudden manager requests fondly referred to as “fly-by’s.”
• Alerts or notifications from email, instant messaging, or social media such as Twitter and Facebook.
• Peers or friends dropping by to discuss something or just talk.
• Checking news sites or blogs I’m subscribed to. This one is a real time waster for me because each post or article often has other links to other blogs or news stories.
• Doing the less important tasks on my “to-do” list because the high priority tasks take more time and work.

Manager “fly-by’s” are a fact of life, like taxes and death. Usually, you are in a position where it’s a difficult to say no. Instead, try using an approach where you tell your manager that these are the tasks or projects you are working on and if you undertake an additional task, one or all of the other tasks will be delayed. Which one would they prefer to delay? This puts the onus back on the manager at the very least.

You are in control of the setting for your email, instant messaging, and social media alerts. You know how to turn those off. It’s like dieting or forming any new habit. It takes discipline and the realization that the “pain” will only last for a while. Perhaps try scheduling a block of time on your calendar of when to check your email and all other communication programs you use. This works fairly well. If you work at a place where your job depends on email then this strategy may not work.

I believe in the direct approach when people stop by my cube. If I’m busy, I have no problem telling them that I have to get this task finished and to let me hook up with them later. Most people won’t have a problem with that as they have probably been in the same situation. Use caution if using this approach at home with your spouse. J

As far as the news web sites and blogs, I find that if I check headlines once a day, things usually won’t change that much. I try to avoid many of the human interest stories that are depressing. I also use a news reader to facilitate my reading of 100′s of blog sites. I can skim the headlines and mark which ones I want to read. This eliminates 90% of the posts on my reading list.

For me, the only way I have successfully completed tasks that are lengthy is to block time out on my calendar specifically for that task. If I don’t do that, then I tend to put off working on the task due to time constraints or other interruptions I mentioned earlier.

The bottom line to your productivity is that you are in control whether you choose to believe it or not. Striving to improve productivity allows you to get more accomplished and still lead some semblance of a normal life. Think about the way you sabotage your workday. Try writing down some of the distractions for a few days and see which ones are common. Then think about it and see if you can come up with a solution that works for you.

Bobby