21 Distractions That Decrease Your Productivity

Distractions are the death of productivity but they don’t have to be. In this article we will outline what the best distractions are and how to get rid of them and replace them with a more productive and effective ones.

While you may find yourself getting distracted by a lot of things, the good thing about being online is that you are free to check out interesting blogs and websites whenever you feel like it. This means that it does not matter if you are working or not and you will be able to fit in a lot of reading.

21 Distractions that Decrease Your Productivity

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We hope that these tips have helped in terms of how to be more productive.

We would love to know how you’re getting on with productivity. Do you need any additional help with productivity?

Share your tips, thoughts on your experience with productivity, or any useful links that we have missed. Thanks!

1) Facebook

This is the reason why most companies block Facebook. Most companies think that if you block Facebook on your computer, it will somehow not have access to your business account. But, it is not like that. There is another way to block Facebook.

I have worked on this website since 2015 and at no time did it ever even occur to me that Facebook’s algorithm would work in such a way. However, it turns out that Facebook’s algorithm is working in such a way, so I’ve decided to delete my Facebook page.

This is what I should have done in the first place.

Facebook’s algorithm is working in such a way that content that has been shared frequently for a long time will rise to the top of the newsfeed list.

2) Reddit

As many users who surf the internet daily know, Reddit is a link hub for web content, but it’s also full of distractions. The problem is that it’s a lot easier to find the information that you’re looking for.

You will have fun exploring and getting lost in an endless sea of fascinating stories.

3) YouTube

Because, the original stuff is all so boring.

When I first met the guy on IRC a few years ago, I got the sense that he was kinda strange, like a bit of an oddball and one that had a hard time fitting into any kind of group. I think he was kinda, what might be best described as, a loner.

I just wanna to say, that although I don’t speak French, I can understand a lot of what they say, and I really like it. I think it’s a lot of fun to listen to the original lyrics, but they really can be a bit of a struggle for me, as you can see.

Since I don’t speak any french, I don’t really know the words of the song, and would really like to help you, but I’m not sure how to explain it all the way I want to.

4) All Other Social Media

Now, I am not saying stop using social media. But be mindful of your time and your distractions.

We have a lot of distractions here at the office. People walk in and out, doors slam, there are cars going past.

It doesn’t make sense to talk about “my favorite car”. What if you don’t have a favorite? How about this: “I would like to have my own car, like you do” or “You are the first person I have ever met with a Mustang”.

5) T.V

Please turn off the T.V when you work so you can see your work. Also if you must work with the T.V on, then make sure to take it off while you’re eating or taking a bathroom break.

TV lowers your productivity with the sound that’s coming from it. It makes you more likely to not be focused on your work because you have to listen to what’s on the TV.

6) Text Messaging

The number one thing you want to know about is texting someone back constantly. Because sooner or later they’ll text you back, and you won’t have time to even put down the phone before you have to pick it back up.

The cycle is vicious.

7) Food

You’re telling me that my diet is limiting my productivity but that’s not the case. It’s true that you should eat during the day since you are not exercising as if you were at the gym and you should snack throughout the day if you’re working on something. But if you’re busy, there are plenty of energy bars out there that you can eat.

Yes, as I mentioned in my video, you’ll be spending more time working than in any previous cycle, so just try to keep yourself on an even keel when you’re in a long period of working. If you get hungry, just take a short break. Don’t take unnecessary longer breaks.

8) Games Consoles

Maybe you just really love your console that much, but when you do decide to switch off, you might be tempted to take a break out of your office space and switch on the console.

You could also use a lot of punctuation.

In fact, you might realise you’ve been playing a game for ages when you actually get to the end. Time flies when you’re having fun.

9) Emails

If you’re getting a lot of emails, it’s important to make sure that you’re responding to the most important emails as soon as possible. It’s also important to have email management software that allows you to sort the emails, according to importance.

Many successful people will dedicate some time at the end of the day just to check their emails and reply to them. This is a great strategy, because you’ll be replying to your emails daily, but still will be doing it all in one go.

10) Mirrors

I’m sure plenty of women have said that in the past, but I’m not sure whether to believe it when I come across it. I need to do a little bit more research into the matter. It’s definitely a very interesting side effect to having a mirror around.

11) Notepads

There is also a difference between a note and a sticky note. A note is a paper with writing on it to make notes. A sticky note is a piece of paper with sticky material on it for making notes.

There are loads of notepads on the market but notecards are the most common. Sometimes they’re used as doodle pads for when you’ve lost the paper and you want to scribble down random thoughts.

12) A Busy Room

A room full of people talking and moving around is guaranteed to decrease your productivity. This is a pretty natural thing in the work place anyway, so it might just be something you need to get used to if you can’t avoid it.

13) Phone Calls

If you’re regularly getting annoying phone calls, it’s going to make your day difficult. You’ll often have to remind yourself what you were doing after you’ve put the phone down.

14) Pets

If you are trying to work on a task that involves a lot of thinking, or working on a complicated project, stroking your pet during these times will definitely lower your overall productivity in the long run.

The less pets you have where you work, ie. in most cases your home, then the more your productivity starts to increase. They just don’t like attention.

15) Furniture

Well let’s say there is a lot of furniture and you want to make sure that everything is in proportion, that its all right, its ok, not too much or too little. This is why I think that all things in the universe are connected to each other.
You are all connected and have been from the beginning of time.

Oh, and your chair. It really needs to be adjusted correctly at the beginning, but once you’ve got it set up, you ought to leave it there and never touch it.

6. When the phone call from the doctor comes in after a week of waiting for the results, you’ll want to be prepared.

16) Meetings (in some cases)

The ones who are most in favor of holding meetings are usually those who don’t produce much. You’re not getting any work done during meetings. Sure, you’re agreeing on some decisions. But a lot of them don’t need whole meetings based around them.

It’s not necessary, and it often kills a lot of time that you could be using to get work done. You know it’s bad when you’re holding meetings just to talk about setting dates for other meetings.

17) Any Others Time Wasting Websites

When you think of what you want to work on, find ways to make it easier to work. Don’t get distracted from the task at hand. It’s easy to fall into distractions. Make sure to work on what you’re supposed to be working on. Don’t let distractions from other things distract you.

18) Small Unimportant Tasks

These are tasks that don’t have any deadlines and you’re just doing them to do them rather than because you really have to get them done. They’ll even get done in a day or two if you’re pushing them.

You may just be an expert at your niche, but at some point, I think it’s important to step outside your comfort zone, and learn something new.

19) Your own Thoughts

I’ve found that the best time to get a certain kind of achievement is during your downtime.

It’s actually really hard to stop thinking about other things going on in your life when you’re at work. Especially when you’re considering a problem in your personal life, but do your best to ignore them.

Distraction and over-thinking are two of the biggest distractions that decreases your productivity level. So, don’t let them. Instead, focus on the task at hand and avoid the over-thinking.

20) News

News and media apps have become a must have for those working in the digital age. These apps are great to help you stay up to date with any news that is relevant to you.

If you want to be a great leader, you need to know what’s going on in the world. There’s no denying that.
Your teammates’ opinions don’t really change, so you need to have time to be updated to make sure that you have all that information.

21) Looking at the Clock

I’ve found that staring at a clock can be extremely distracting for people. In fact, the time can appear to slow down to some point where they think they could watch paint dry.

Why are you doing this?
Why are you wasting your precious time?
You could have spent this time on something productive. You could have been reading a book or perhaps writing an awesome poem.

Recapping

Here is a short list that takes less than two minutes to do. You just simply have to identify and eliminate the distractions in your daily life.

I let Facebook and Twitter because they are social media sites.

21 Distractions That Decrease Your Productivity