Maintaining concentration in the workplace can be incredibly difficult, especially when there are so many distracting external factors.
Are you aware of what is distracting your team? Read on to discover what is getting in the way of your team’s productivity, and how you can control these factors to work as efficiently as possible.
Technology
One of the stand-out distractions in the 21st century is technology. We are finding it increasingly difficult to detach from social media, with recent studies reflecting that UK adults hugely underestimate how often they check their mobiles. The majority of us think we check them 25 times a day on average, with the reality being that we actually check our phones up to 80 times.
Whilst technology can be hugely beneficial and even necessary within a working environment, it definitely has its drawbacks. Psychology professional, Larren Rosen suggests that once distracted, it can take ‘20 minutes or more after processing new information to achieve a total resumption of where we were before the interruption’. Taking this into account, being distracted by your phone could be wasting hours of your time.
In order to tackle this, it is important to change how technology is being used and incorporate limited time slots into your day for social media usage. Part of this relies on being realistic about response times, remembering that instant messages and email responses aren’t always going to be instantaneous.
Hunger
Another common distraction in the workplace, that is commonly ignored, is hunger.
Hunger is directly connected to low blood sugar which results in low energy levels and fatigue. This can be incredibly detrimental to your mood and makes tasks a lot more difficult to complete. Whilst many workaholics disregard their hunger, eating actually increases productivity.
Taking snack breaks and using rewards to split up your day can help to keep you motivated towards your goals. Whether it’s a coffee, a snack or a short walk, having a break can help you reap the rewards. Here at Workbench, we ensure all our serviced offices have modern kitchen facilities, that are regularly stocked with tea and coffee, to allow our tenants to take time out.
Cleanliness
The condition of a working environment itself can also be a massive factor that disturbs concentration.
When an environment is cluttered, the mess restricts your brain from being able to focus properly. This is the same for your physical space and your digital space. It literally makes things more difficult to find, which can have a drastic effect on your productivity and efficiency.
Luckily, it is easy to resolve organisation issues with the vast availability of online organisation applications, and office spaces like ours which have storage spaces to make life easier. Using applications such as Google Cloud and Dropbox not only keeps your documents organised but also ensures everything is backed up to prevent the inevitable nightmare of losing your important documents. Systems such as Trello and Google Calendar are also useful when it comes to organising your day and keeping track of the work you’ve completed.
Here at Workbench, we pride ourselves on having facilities that promote efficiency and organisation. We offer offices in a range of sizes, with breakout rooms, modern kitchen facilities and great storage. It’s the little things that make a huge difference.