Distractions at work are a nightmare. Imagine you’re in the thick of an important project, trying to hit a deadline, and a sales guy for a product you don’t want stops by your place of work and decides to stir everything up. Things like this happen whether you’re a construction worker, a teacher, in sales…or even in the NBA.
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This conversation stems from Drake, hip-hop superstar and definitely the shyest Toronto Raptors fan in history. (There’s no way you haven’t heard about him getting a little too close to some players during the 2019 Eastern Conference Finals.) Agents, players, coaches and fans have been weighing in on whether he’s been going too far with his fandom, and I can’t say I blame them. Distractions are a part of any professional sport, but actually touching the head coach and being on the floor is a little bit more a fan waving a foam finger.
Outside the professional sports world, many companies are adopting open-concept office layouts to help create a better team environment for their staff, but those spaces can also increase the likelihood of distractions. They encourage interaction and create a safe space, free of harassment and private chaos. However, noise can be a factor, and if you’re easily distracted, they can cause quite a bit of anxiety. The good news is that there’s hope, and you don’t need to sacrifice your sanity to get sh*t done.
First, organize things. It’s going to sound over-simplified, but de-cluttering your work desk and making task lists can help you blast through your work day without distractions. There are a lot of productivity tools out there like Asana and Trello that can transform a desk full of post-it notes into a nice digital dashboard.
Second, get good headphones and find some music. A lot of studies that show music can help make you more productive, but make sure you choose the right music for the right task—if it can drown out the noise, it can turn up your workflow.
Third, be open and honest with your team. Comfortably approaching people that may be acting a bit too loud can be difficult, but not making deadlines can affect your standing at a company. If the productivity hits can be prevented with a simple chat, take that action. If you’re working in an environment where people aren’t willing to cooperate, then it’s worth bringing up to a supervisor.
At the end of the day, your company pays you to be productive, and they’ll likely do whatever it takes to make sure you’re happy. If they’re not, well, ChatterBlast is always looking for hot shots, brainiacs and not-so-evil geniuses to add to our team!
