If there was ever a process designed specifically to distract us, it would be the internet.  The links, side ads, and animations are all designed to pull our attention in different directions.
However in addition to what is pulling you within a web page, internet sites are challenged by the many users who are also multitasking [...]

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We tend to blame others when we can’t concentrate on a project, and there’s some validity in that.  After all, the average business person is interrupted about every three minutes.  Interruptions commonly stem from the telephone, email, or a colleague.  These are easy to pinpoint, but there is another one to add to that list.  [...]

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In response to an article I published on the “Top 10 Distractions in the Office“, a reader wrote back to ask what a “white noise machine” was. He had read the following excerpt:
Noise. Overhearing colleagues’ discussions, one-sided telephone conversations, or outside activities diverts your concentration. If you are easily distracted, close your door, use a [...]

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In a post that I wrote last week about crisis management, I presented some techniques for limiting the pressure of deadlines. Responding to this, one reader commented that it wasn’t useful advice for those “on the front lines who don’t have jobs that come with laptops, travel, and corporate jargon.”
I recognize that not everyone can [...]

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“Where did this week go?”
That common phrase can be interpreted in two different ways:

It was a great week. I had so much fun/got so much done that it flew by.
I don’t feel that I accomplished anything I had planned, and it is already the end of the week.

It is not hard to figure out [...]

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It is a common refrain: “I’d get something done if I weren’t always interrupted and distracted.” There are tools and techniques that help you manage your daily schedule better and get more productive work done. However even when someone is familiar with the processes, they may still not be utilizing the concepts. [...]

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In my recent post on the Absent Presence, Stephanie commented that she would like to have some techniques for coping with the interruption of having someone in your office or trying to terminate a telephone call so that you would not have to constantly diffuse your focus and cope with more than one thing at [...]

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Dealing with interruptions is a constant struggle when you are attempting to get more accomplished with effective time management techniques.There are two factors to consider in attempting to cope:
Completely eliminate the interruption
Control or shorten the length of the distraction
In my posting on the Top Ten Distractions in the Office, dealing with telephone calls was a [...]

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I was recently asked what the Top Ten Office Distractions were. The first ones that came to mind were easy. They were the topics always mentioned by my clients in individual consultations and by my audiences in my time management training seminars:

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Writing this after just deplaning from a business trip, I’ve been observing how many people on the plane snapped open their cell phones as soon as the wheels touched down. Conversations began in front of me, behind me, and next to me. While pulling their luggage from the overhead racks, they were still talking. At [...]

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