{"id":3628,"date":"2021-01-14T07:00:08","date_gmt":"2021-01-14T14:00:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/216.172.168.58\/rainier\/?p=3628"},"modified":"2021-01-28T20:01:23","modified_gmt":"2021-01-29T03:01:23","slug":"how-to-identify-the-common-work-habits-that-are-sabotaging-your-productivity-and-attention-management","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/coparalegal.com\/how-to-identify-the-common-work-habits-that-are-sabotaging-your-productivity-and-attention-management\/","title":{"rendered":"How to identify the common work habits that are sabotaging your productivity and attention management"},"content":{"rendered":"[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ admin_label=”section” _builder_version=”3.22″][et_pb_row admin_label=”row” _builder_version=”4.7.7″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” custom_margin=”-61px|auto||5px|false|false”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”3.25″ custom_padding=”|||” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text” _builder_version=”3.27.4″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” custom_margin=”-27px|||||”]View Original Article At: Maura Nevel Thomas<\/span> | Dec 6, 2019, 7:45 AM<\/a><\/p>\n

Now it’s time to take a closer look at how attention management \u2014 or the lack of it \u2014 shapes your work and your life daily. You may be surprised to learn how common work behaviors actually make you unproductive, stressed, and unsatisfied. “But I have to work this way,” you might protest. “This is just how my office is.”<\/p>\n

However, these unhealthy habits and behaviors are just symptoms of distraction, and they are truly optional. This means you can transform your experience at work \u2014 and improve your life overall \u2014 by sharpening your attention management skills.<\/p>\n

Here are some common situations that sabotage productivity and attention management. How many have you experienced or observed?<\/p>\n

Distractions take over<\/h2>\n

Do you constantly feel that it’s impossible to get anything done because of all the drop-ins and “got a minutes?” you must deal with? My clients tell me one of their biggest distractions is being interrupted by what I call “OPPs” \u2014 other people’s problems \u2014 that they are constantly asked to weigh in on.<\/p>\n

You know those times when you’re sitting at your desk, just starting to feel immersed in an important task, and then you hear your name? Instantly, your attention shifts from your task to the interrupter as they begin telling you about an issue they want your help with. When they (finally!) leave, research shows it could take several minutes to more than an hour to get back to where you were with your work and begin to make progress again. Even worse, when you expect interruptions, you tend to work faster, and this increases your stress and frustration.<\/p>\n

Technology is another major distraction. You’re dealing with a massive influx of information that was hard to imagine even 15 years ago. Myriad information channels \u2014 email, texts, social media, and on and on, along with your nagging impulse to check them constantly for something new \u2014 compete for your attention when you’re trying to focus on important work.<\/p>\n

Even our physical environments steal our focus. Our work spaces have become less supportive of productivity. More and more of us work in open office settings that aim to foster collaboration, but they end up hampering focused work. Just think about how many times you’ve lost your train of thought when activity near your desk distracts you.<\/p>\n

“Attention Management: How to Create Success and Gain Productivity \u2013 Every Day.”\u00a0<\/figcaption>Courtesy of Maura Nevel Thomas<\/span><\/span><\/figure>\n

Without attention management skills, all the little distractions in your day become a big drain on your productivity and your happiness. You spend your day multitasking, which may make you feel productive, but it actually slows down your work, causes you to make more mistakes, and results in many things done “part way” and almost nothing done to completion. This saps the satisfaction from your work.<\/p>\n

Psychologists and researchers Theresa Amabile and Steve Kramer coined the phrase “the progress principle” to summarize their findings that, “of all the things that can boost emotions, motivation, and perceptions during a workday, the single most important is making progress in meaningful work. And the more frequently people experience that sense of progress, the more likely they are to be creatively productive in the long run.”<\/p>\n

Attention management skills are critical to taking back control. They allow you to refocus your day on your priorities, so you can make progress on your meaningful work instead of reacting to every incoming demand on your attention.<\/p>\n

Unproductive cultures take root<\/h2>\n

When employees are stressed, disengaged, and unproductive, their problems are typically blamed on poor organization or time-management skills. But the actual cause is often an organizational issue that discourages the practice of attention management.<\/p>\n

A few examples of how this can play out:<\/p>\n