Here’s how to avoid workplace distractions

Time is money and productivity is a coveted commodity in the workplace. But so many people find themselves grappling with countless distractions that can suck precious hours out of their workday. There are ways to limit and avoid the biggest workplace distractions.

Back to work after the holidays and back to the endless cycle of meetings, emails, and interruptions at work. According to a recent survey by the Society of Human Resource Management, employees waste an average of two hours and 53 minutes each day at work. That adds up to more than 500 hours a year.

Meetings, emails and interruptions, oh my!

The number one time suck? Unnecessary meetings. A study out of Berkley found the average employee attends 55 meetings per month and 31 percent of them are unproductive. Studies show during COVID, more meetings were held on zoom than were held before COVID in the office. Now, the new normal is more meetings, even if they are virtual. Business Insider estimates a third of those meetings are unproductive and cost $37 billion each year in wasted time and resources.

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Employees spend an average of 28 hours per week dealing with emails. That’s three full workdays. And how many times a day are you interrupted? A study out of the University of Michigan found the average employee is interrupted every 11 minutes. We get sucked into social media too, spending an hour and 43 minutes per day checking out the latest posts.

Limiting distractions

So, what can you do about it? Experts say plan each day and stick to it. It will help you stay focused. Set priorities on tasks and do the most important ones first. Delegate whenever possible and use technology wisely. For example, an email filter will help sort your mail and avoid distractions. Apps like Todoist and Tick Tick can help you prioritize your lists and keep moving forward. Also, add a distraction blocker app like freedom. It will allow you to block things like Twitter from certain devices or for certain time periods.

Ivanhoe Newswire contributed to this report