Are you constantly distracted by EVERYTHING while working? Can’t you focus on your work on a desktop? Messages from the Telegram (or Facebook) knock all thoughts down? You don’t want to be unproductive, your task needs to be on time, but everything returns to distraction. You are not alone.
“ 69% of full-time employees surveyed report being distracted at work according to Udemy ”
I faced this trouble too. In this text, you will see: 3 steps on how to be productive on your desktop with my experience; which problem can solve each software; facts about working activity.
- 1) FIRST STEP. Track your time
- 2) SECOND STEP. Block distracting Apps & Sites
- 3) THIRD STEP. Organize your desktop
- Tips from Captain Obvious for working, but should be mentioned
1) FIRST STEP. Track your time
Do you know what the first step is recommended for those who want to get out of poverty? Start writing down where you spend money. The fact of the recording holds back a person before a rash waste and helps to understand how much of the money is spent irrationally. Then it can be adjusted.
In the same way, tracking helps you spend time rationally. Try to track the working hours. You will know that when the timer is on, you need to work and this will discipline on its own. By a bonus, you will receive accurate data about how much time it took for which task, and you can use it in the future to more accurately determine deadlines and understand your load.
What can I do? I decided to install a Time recording system.
I chose TimeDoctor because of intuitive and simple use:
- Name task
- Add it
- Click on it
- Now it’s recording
Pluses:
- check time for each task separately
- see the analyze of your productivity in a dashboard
- switch to another task by a click
- tick done ones
- see how much time you spend total
- add offline time work
- track breaks and time spent away from the computer
- use it on all devices
(https://www.timedoctor.com/classic)
With this program, I understand my productivity and use time effectively. I can say to the boss that I need 5-6 hours to complete rewriting, don’t postpone tasks until late, not taking extra-hours to end the project.
2) SECOND STEP. Block distracting Apps & Sites
Time is not my enemy anymore, but SOCIAL MEDIA is. I checked the open application report at TimeDoctor and realized that 40% of the time I spent on Facebook. That was the second challenge for me. But I sincerely tried to work. What can I see? I am addicted to social media. Instead of work I checked my Instagram, answered on Facebook, even tried to sign up to the gym because I want to buy sneakers online.
So I searched for an app that can help me. That can close all annoying websites and improve my productivity. I found one.
Chrome extension (website blocker) can:
- block any site
- block by category with a single click
- switch to a work mode
- select the time of this restriction
- sync between desktop and mobile;
- block any description with the banned word (like a sale)
Who needs this:
- social addicted people like me
- people that can be easily distracted by sales
- procrastinators
- the normal human being that needs to work (we all can be distracted)
Before that, I can answer on my social media at least once an hour. Now I can stay focused for hours and avoid procrastination. Bye-bye Facebook, see you after work Instagram.
3) THIRD STEP. Organize your desktop
I control my time, focus on work, but have a mess on my desktop.
Initially, I had a desktop like this:
If your desktop is even a little like this, then read on.
How to deal with it? I took such rules for myself:
- divide the desktop into zones attached to files of a specific purpose
- once a month delete unused applications
- sort related files together
- color-code and prioritize your computer stuff for better visual understanding
The last item requires further explanation.
When you are trying to make the stuff organized in the real world, you are using boxes or folders of different colors, putting paper tags on them for fast understanding what is inside and find the stuff quickly. So, why don’t you use the same approach with our virtual stuff?
This is exactly what Folder Marker software does.
This small Windows-based program allows you to colorize your folder or put an image-tag on it to differentiate the folder visually and show what is inside of your computer folder.
Before:
After:
It is easy to use and requires only 2 mouse clicks to set color or image-label.
What does it give?
- colorize folders in different colors by click, so the stuff were sorted according to your color-scheme
- prioritize your tasks or indicate process progress
- protect important data from accidental removal
- personalize your workspace
Now I can save time on finding files. It takes me seconds.
Tips from Captain Obvious for working, but should be mentioned
- Sleep well. A study from Harvard University found that American companies lose almost $65B annually because of employee sleep deprivation.
Look at this logical chain:
- Workers don’t sleep well and reduce their productivity
- Companies lose money
- Companies fire those people who don’t sleep well
(https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424127887323301104578257894191502654)
- The sport is a friend of mine. The American Psychological Association reports that employees are more productive on days where they exercise before work. It is time to pull out your slimming hoop!
(http://www.apaexcellence.org/resources/goodcompany/blog/2012/03/exercising-at-work-boosts-prod.php)
- Please, Phone, leave me alone! People spend an estimated four hours a day on their mobile devices according to The New York Times and lose their concentration.
(https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/24/well/mind/putting-down-your-phone-may-help-you-live-longer.html)
Now I am using all these 3 programs. Time, Focus, and Simple use by my side. I am happy with my productivity. I can work 8 hours with minimal distraction without losing quality. According to the TimeDoctor, on my FIRST STEP, I worked 6. It means I’ve got 2 extra hours in a day, or 1 extra week in a month or additional month in a year. Not bad, right?
Let me know whether you’ve tried any of the software programs and which one is the most effective in your opinion. Or maybe you have some other recommendations to include?
Productivity has entered the chat.
