Work offline, get things done

We live in distracting times, where any task can easily get derailed.  

We surf the net, recheck pages, answer emails, juggle cell phone calls...and then there is the real world. 

Today, I believe our greatest productivity challenge comes from these distractions. 

There's one distraction you can get rid of:  Incoming information.  

When I need to work on a task, say writing this blog post or creating a marketing plan, I turn off incoming email (work offline) and close my web browsers.  My phone is set to silent.   When the task is over, I turn everything back on and retrieve my emails.  

This process works.   

Many of you say, "I don't need to turn off the distractions, just ignore them."  But you can't.  The Yahoo home page is too tempting to refresh (stocks, scores, news).  You cannot ignore that little envelope that says, "you've got mail."  You can't let a ringing cell phone float into email.  You can't.  That's why you need to turn it all off.  

Here's a side benefit to sole-tasking:  You decrease stress in your work life.  In 2006, I co-authored a study with Heartmath that measured the relationship between being constantly interrupted and work place depression.  It is an eye opener.  Check out the study results to see if you have NEDS. 

Study on New Economy Depression Syndrome 

Get more email advice at EmailAtoZ

Comments

[Harry Tucker]

Hey Tim,

Great post!

There’s another technique for concentrating that may sound strange but which a psychiatrist will tell you makes perfect sense.

At one point in my life, I was doing so much travel that the only time when I had a chance to do my own stuff or stuff for my family was when I was finally back at the airport waiting for a flight.

What I discovered was that when I was in the airport, my mind would automatically go into a special mode of peace, relaxation and gratitude that allowed me to accomplish things that were important for my personal purpose and for my family.

To this day, sometimes when my brain is stuck I ask my wife to drop me off at an airport for a couple of hours and as I enter, I find my mind automatically settles down into that same peaceful, relaxed, grateful state of mind, upon which my brain becomes unstuck. :-) A few hours later, with work accomplished and still in a peaceful frame of mind, I get up and go home.

Sounds goofy, but it works for me!

Take care, Tim!

Harry

[avin]

Thanks for the reminder Tim! It's amazing how much you can get done when you set aside focused time.

Great thoughts on actually closing the browser instead of just hiding it - it's too tempting to refresh.

Great stuff. avin

[Cam Linke]

Paul Graham wrote a great article on this, basically how the internet has become the new TV of distractions and how he gets around it:
http://www.paulgraham.com/distraction.html

[Jim Kukral TheBizWebCoach.com]

Yeah, I have to do the same thing. It does work.

[Sarah Bray]

Right on with this post. I use a web mail client for this particular reason, even though I like Mac mail. I can't stand to see that little "1" down there as soon as I receive an email, even if I have the sound turned off.