3 Simple Ways to Cope At Home Distractions & Be Productive

This is quite challenging, because most of our work is done on the computer that uses Internet access. It is way too easily getting sidetracked from our work, when we see some interesting links to videos, articles and news. Sometimes we are telling to ourselves that this is a good thing for us, often times we can’t even help it, but really we have to know how to overcome this temptation.

By definition, if there’s something that allows you to do something else, not your work, then it is a distraction.

If you get distracted by the surfing through weird websites on the Internet, schedule a time aside to check your stats in Social Media sites like (Twitter, Facebook, etc.) and schedule your “email check” activities.

You can control the distractions, when you schedule them in advance, otherwise, you’ll have them to control you by popping out of nowhere and interrupt the hell out of you.

The “setting a time aside” method, for social media and email usually work pretty well for me, and I am not as curious about my email and social media profiles as I used to be when working, because I know that they can wait until the time I finish with my work.

We can’t help it. We all have favorite shows on TV that we watch all the time. We use the TV to relax and rejuvenate, and almost automatically we grab the remote control, sitting on the couch, and begin searching for interesting channels or we get glued to it when something interesting appear.

We have only a limited amount of time throughout the day, so when we are trying to work, the best thing you can do is to turn off the TV, not reducing the volume, or changing the channel to something that’s less demanding your attention, but actually turning the whole thing off.

Train yourself to do this. It is going to help you tremendously in concentrating at your work and getting things done.

In my home office, it is really a separated room at home, I do not have a TV in it, because I know it is only for work, and if you keep the TV out of sight, during the hours of work, you’ll get tremendous leverage out of your time.

Children are on top of the list of distractions, and our biggest inspiration. They always demand for our attention, and when it comes to actually working on your business at home, we get easily distracted. Even doing the simplest activity, as writing an article, it can take hours, if we get distracted all the time and coming back to it dozen of times, to finish it. It is not only frustrating, but it is also producing low quality work.

The best way to cope with kids interruptions is to plan your work for today, or sometimes even planning a week in advance.

Here are some things to consider:

1. If your kids go to school or when they are not at home, this is the best time to plan your work for today. If you are a parent recently, then you want to notice when they are deep asleep throughout the day and to schedule your work when they are asleep. Sometimes it is hard to predict, but babies usually have certain patterns that they go through, if you notice when they wake up throughout the day, it is very likely to wake up at the same time tomorrow, or in a week. Notice when they are going to be awake, or notice when they start crying, because this is often not just a random behavior. We are habitual beings, and we do things on patterns and routines most of the time. Babies may have established habits to wake up throughout the day that demands your attention. Be aware of that, and write in a sheet of paper when and at what time they woke up. Also note at what time they started crying and so on. Behaviors and actions are predictable, and if the kids did something yesterday, they are likely to do it today.
2. Also hiring a babysitter isn’t a bad idea, even if you are at home. So you are always going to be around them, even if there’s a person who can help. It is always a good practice to have somebody who can help you with this, not doing it all by yourself. The biggest mistake one can do is to save money, but to put their time on the line as a result of that. Meaning, trading time for money. Hire a babysitter, even if you are at home, is going to allow you to focus on your work. You want to spend money to save you time. If spending money on a babysitter is going to save you a lot, then consider doing it. It is actually quite easy, because there are a lot of women who are looking for jobs in this economy, and you can find one very affordably. What if you can invite over your friends to watch the kids while you are working, especially if you are working on a critical assignment. You may not want to abuse this, but friends are here to help.