Distractions and how I deal with them

Working from home has been a true test of focus. Distractions left and right, no manager sitting by you to keep you accountable throughout the day, it’s so easy to catch yourself doing anything but work during your 9 to 5. While we try to adjust for what life may potentially be like forever (remote work 4 life!), here are some distractions I constantly deal with and how I manage them:

My phone

If you get a work laptop, I definitely recommend you do not connect your text messages to it! I made this mistake at my first internship and found myself distracted literally all the time! Those notifications and messages are too accessible. Even with do-not-disturb turned on, I found myself eyeing the badge count for my iMessage app every second I got distracted. The worst part of it all was that it was easy to get away with texting people back since it sounded like I was typing up an email to send to a client.

Along with that, while I’m in full-force focus mode, I’ll leave my phone far from my reach. By far from reach I mean far enough that I’d need to get up and walk to pick it up. When my phone is within reach, I find myself involuntarily picking it up, then next thing I know I’m scrolling through Instagram — and then there you have it, I look up at the clock and 30 minutes have just gone to waste. Don’t set yourself up for failure!

Music/background noise

Knowing what types of sounds/music help you focus and which hinder your concentration is key! For me personally, any songs that I know the lyrics to are a huge distraction. I catch myself singing in my head, which draws my attention away from work. Sometimes I prefer either hearing no noise/white noise, or listening to EDM when I need that energy boost. If I’m looking for some more relaxation, lofi beats or ocean waves via YouTube are my go-to.

Another point to make, the noise in your environment is important! When I was living at my parent’s house, this was not ideal at all! My siblings and parents would walk into my room and start talking to me without even knocking, as you’d imagine, that would really throw off my flow! Now, I’m lucky to have a roomie who’s also quiet when she works, so I’m never worried about being distracted by other humans throughout the day.

Sleep

This tip may not be possible for all people to follow, but I find it helpful to not have my desk in my room. When I’m near my bed, I’m tempted to work while cozy in it. Once I’m in my bed, I doze off. And once I’ve dozed off, I’m asleep and no longer working! My last internship was very flexible, so I’d “work” from my bed all the time. Nowadays I have actual work that needs to get done, so I can’t even risk putting myself in a situation where I could lose precious hours of the day.

What other distractions do you face while working from home? How do you deal with them? Share them in the comments below :)