Tips for Getting Rid of Distractions When Trying to Be Productive

I don't know about you but I'm one of those people who has a hard time...I'm talking about an extremely hard time...ignoring distractions when I'm trying to work and that can really wreak havoc on my time management plan.

My solution...the only solution that has ever worked for me...is to take complete control over those distractions. If you really think about it, you too have much more control over your own distractions than you may think.

In this article I'm going to share my tips for getting rid of distractions when trying to be productive.

Temperature

This is really a pretty simple thing to control. You can put on more clothes, take off some, or control the room temperature.

In my house I'm the one who's always cold. If it's below 80 degrees I'm in a sweat shirt (and I'm a native Floridian...go figure). So when I get cold I put on more clothes.

Mostly in the summer I'll just work on the screened-in porch unless it's really humid. In that case I have a couple of rooms in the house where I can shut myself in and turn on an oil-filled radiant heater. Yep, I'll run that sucker even in July.

I don't care what it looks like, when the AC's on full blast it's cold to me and that's very distracting.

Noise

Noise is another thing you can control. For a long time before I purchased my laptop I had to work in the dining room which is off of the living room...you know that room where everyone watches that big idiot box (I'm the only one in my family who doesn't care for TV). For that reason, I became very familiar with the various types of earplugs.

Once I got the laptop controlling noise has been much easier...I just remove myself from the noise.

Lighting

Lighting is another thing that's always been very distracting to me so I created my own perfect lighting. On my porch...where I'm writing this very article...I have an adjustable torchiere floor lamp with a smaller one attached about a quarter of the way down from the top that I can point any which way I want for softer or stronger lighting...whichever suits my mood at the moment.

It costs all of $15 at Wal-Mart and has been worth so much more than that. The lighting is much more flexible than the ceiling fan.

Hunger/Thirst

These two are just too easy to control. Get some peanuts, popcorn, or whatever healthy snack you prefer. Eat just a light meal before you attempt to focus on whatever it is you're working on.

Keep a bottle of water close by. I keep 2-32 oz Rubbermaid containers in the door of my fridge with Brita water in them. I keep one with me at all times.

Physical Discomfort

If you sit...like I do...for long periods of time you know you get sort of cramped feeling. To solve that problem I try to walk around often. I'll get up just to stretch.

I know this isn't feasible for most people but I'll try to work a couple of hours and take a one hour walk then I'll work a couple of more hours and walk another hour. Even if you can't do that you could still take a break every so often and walk around and stretch. Your productivity will probably positively reflect it.

I hope my tips for getting rid of distractions when trying to be productive have been helpful to you.

By the way, do you want to learn more about time management? If so, then download my brand new free ebook about Time Management. Or, visit me at There Must Be A Better Way