Bring Back the Typing Pool
By Robert Gerrish | May 13, 2008
BNET Australia Contributors
Aussie Rules
Biography
BNET Australia Contributors
Brian Haverty is editorial director for CBS Interactive Australia and is responsible for the company's BNET and ZDNet Australia sites.
Robert Gerrish is a coach, author and professional speaker and the founder of Flying Solo, an Australian online community for solo business owners.
Melissa Lourenco is the HR manager for CBS Interactive in Australia.
Chris Golis is the author of The Humm Handbook: Lifting Your Level of Emotional Intelligence. He runs seminars and workshops on EQ.
Suzi Dafnis is Community Director of the Australian Businesswomen's Network.
Yvonne Adele helps organisations build a culture of ideas by teaching people at all levels to access their untapped creative thinking skills.
There’s just so much to distract us these days, isn’t there? Bring back the discipline of the typing pool I say.
Well, maybe not.
If we see distractions for what they are and confront rather than succumb, we can quickly get on with tackling our real business priorities. Here are some simple distraction actions that work for me:
- Challenge and contain. The cause of distraction can be major or minor. The issue isn’t the issue, it’s the direction of your focus we’re pursuing. The task here is to challenge the distraction and create some containment — package the issue and put it on the shelf. Agree when you’ll get to it (if it really does demand your attention at some point) and get back to your most important work tasks.
- Look for the cause. Often we’ll embrace distraction, choosing to stay busy with something minor in preference to confronting a greater challenge. It might be fear, it could simply be boredom. Ooh, is that another email, I simply must read it. Sure, certain actions in our business are less appealing than a fluffy distraction, but we know who’ll suffer ultimately.
- Gain more perspective. It’s healthy to step back from issues and see them for what they often are — futile distractions that are doing little more than testing our resolve. Make sure you’re not falling into this trap. Have a little chuckle at the absurdity of your thoughts and get back to work.
- Think beyond. A good exercise can be to practice an instant pause, when a new distraction pops up. Consider for a moment: If I go off on this tangent/get involved in this conversation/start pondering this issue, where is it likely to take me and is now the time to go there? Such mental ruthlessness is soon picked up by others and can dramatically stem the flow of distractions. The world is full of purveyors of distraction. Keep your head down; avoid eye contact (real or metaphorical); you’ve given generously already.
- Set a daily theme. A daily theme can work if you’ve been sunk in the abyss of distraction for a while. As you’re shutting up shop, set yourself a theme for the next day. The challenge is to create a dominant feeling and hold it for the entire day. Today my theme is “clear the decks”. All my annoying little jobs and tasks are getting done.
OK, you’ve read enough. Get your head down and do some typing.
