Productivity’s greatest enemy is lack of focus. With that said, how the heck are you supposed to concentrate when it can feel like the odds are stacked against you? Between chatty coworkers (like myself), the never-ending stream of online advertisers competing for your attention, non-stop notifications blowing up your inbox, and an overloaded schedule making prioritizing tasks a challenge in and of itself; it’s amazing you get anything done at all. Short of a permanent IV drip of coffee, what’s a person in today’s busy technological age supposed to do?
In 1971, renowned social scientist Herbert Simon observed, “What information consumes is rather obvious: it consumes the attention of its recipients. Hence a wealth of information creates a poverty of attention.” That was in 1971…before the internet. Imagine what ol’ Herbert would have to say about our society nearly 50 years later. Luckily, for every problem lies a solution. And no, we are not suggesting you cut yourself off from social media and retire to the mountains to meditate (though let’s be real, that would not be the worst thing in the world). Retrain your brain to cut off the unnecessary noise, clutter, and chaos of the outside world and focus on the tasks at hand. See the infographic below for some practical tips to get you through the struggle and on to producing your best work yet. In the words of Tony Little: You can do it!
