Procrastination nation

• By Simon Goble
• 25 Jul 2009

The internet is full of distractions and endless excuses to procrastinate. It will always be easier to play a game of Stackopolis than it is to complete your taxes, file your expenses, send an important email or finalise a design for a client.

In order to help you stay focussed, the team at FreelanceSwitch have compiled a list of "10 ways to eliminate distractions" in a single blog post. We thought their tips were so great we've shared them here 'at a glance':

10 ways to eliminate distractions

1. Turn off your email, IM and Twitter and phone notifications
2. Turn off the Internet. Pull the plug!
3. (If you need the internet to work) find a way to block out distractions
4. Headphones - music is a great way to fall into your own little (focussed) world
5. Create a DO NOT DISTURB sign... co-workers will soon get the hint
6. Clear workspace clutter - create your own Zen Desk, free of 'stuff'
7. Clear computer clutter - create your own Zen Desktop, free of distracting icons
8. Handle interruptions - find ways to quickly get back to the task at hand
9. Use minimal programs (without all the distracting bells-and-whistles)
10. Distraction time - allow yourself 10 minutes to unwind once every hour!

You can read the whole article over on FreelanceSwitch.com.

What did you have to say?

We asked MOO's customers for their advice and you shared some fantastic tips to help other small businesses and freelancers. Some of our favourites include "turn on the radio (low, just enough so you can hear it)" from Samantha Vincent. She continues "it distracts you enough but still keeps you focused so you are not trailing off reading blogs!", apart from the MOO Blog, of course!

Advice from Gareth Rees was to hide the remote control for the TV - an easy place to find distractions for sure. We liked Jade's advice - "make sure you eat before you get focused so you dont start to think "ooh I'm hungry" and waste a lot of time making/buying food" - although we do enjoy the odd cake (or two) at MOO HQ. The idea of posting "GET BACK TO WORK" signs everywhere from Petrina Reyes made us smile - although you'll have to be careful that making all those signs doesn't get in the way of your work!

Getting Things Done

As well as helping you beat the distractions and wonders of the internet we wanted to share some more tips on improving your productivity' (from the mind of David Allen). David's "Getting Things Done" (GTD) method and book are all about the art of stress-free productivity. He's delivered talks at Google and other big institutions, but that doesn't mean to say that the advice isn't transferable to your small business. You can read more about GTD on the GTD TIMES Blog.

Written on:

25 Jul 2009

Categories:

Best Practice, SEO and the Web, Time Management