How are you doing with distractions at work? Are they interfering with your clarity and focus?
If you’re anything like the leaders and managers I speak with, distraction has become an ongoing challenge. And it’s not just our devices or technology, rather, it’s often our emotions, or our responses to our emotions.
According to Nir Eyal, an expert on technology and psychology published by Harvard Business Review, and author of Indistractable: How to Control Your Attention and Choose Your Life. (BenBella Books, 2019) we need to recognize the difference between traction and distraction. When this topic comes up with my coaching clients, we talk about the role of energy and focus to gain traction.
The Role of Energy and Focus
Managing distractions (and sometimes, our emotions) requires purposeful action: channeling our energy and focus. We see this demonstrated by the greatest of leaders and athletes. I wrote about this in my previous post, here.
Energy is much more than effort. It is engagement in a meaningful activity, propelled by both internal and external resources. Purposeful action is self-driven behavior; it is self-generated and engaged to generate traction.
Focus is conscious, intentional and disciplined thought and behavior. You see, purposeful action requires discipline to resist distraction, overcome obstacles and persevere in the face of setbacks. Our focus and energy might fall into one of four categories:
The Frenzied: Are you highly energetic and enthusiastic about your work, yet distracted or overwhelmed by tasks? How do you feel about deadlines, demands and the tyranny of the urgent? The need for speed may trigger you to act without hesitation, but you could achieve more if you consciously concentrate your efforts on what really matters.
The Procrastinator: Are you feeling low energy and focus? Insecurities and fear of failure may cause you to work on minor details, rather than tasks that could make a real difference for your organization.
The Detached: Are you focused, but without energy? What is the cause? You may be passing on apathy or disdain to your co-workers, sending mixed signals.
The Purposeful: Are you highly focused and energetic? You signal calm, reflective, and able to get the job done, even in chaos.
Fortunately, there are some simple steps we can take to train our brain from distractions at work. I’ll dive in to these in my next post. In the meantime, how is your energy and focus? I’d love to hear from you. You can reach me here, on LinkedIn, or give me a call: 561-582-6060.
