It can be difficult to concentrate, especially as the day goes on. What is the biggest daily distraction you face, and how can you avoid it?
These answers are provided by the Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC), an invitation-only organization made up of the world’s most successful young entrepreneurs. YEC members represent nearly every industry, generate billions of dollars in revenue annually and have created tens of thousands of jobs. More information at yec.co.
1. New opportunities
My biggest distraction during the day is my own initiatives. Even after nine years, I’m still chasing an endless list of opportunities. I often interrupt myself with excitement about the next project or the status of an ongoing project. The best way to avoid this is to focus on completing each task sequentially rather than using a multitasking approach. It’s more productive! – Carmine SilanoCheerSounds music
2. Clutter
I’m a bit of a neat freak, so when I see laundry in the hamper, dishes in the sink, or paperwork on the table, it drives me crazy. When I skip cleaning up to get straight to work, I find myself staring at the mess and wondering when I’ll have time to clean it up. Since this is a huge distraction for me, I prefer to do a quick 15 minute clean every day to stay on track. – Thomas GriffioenOptinMonster
3. Slim
In the modern workplace, Slack is more prominent than ever and is a huge distraction for the entire organization. I’ve been trying to communicate to everyone that Slack isn’t intended to be an “instant messaging” solution and that it’s okay to close it every now and then. I open Slack for a maximum of 10 minutes every hour on the hour and use the Pomodoro technique for the rest of my workday. – Karl KangurAbove house
4. Family at home
Because I work for an external company, I work from home most days. When my family is visiting in the summer or has a day off, it distracts me from the task at hand because there are conversations going on and extra noise. I think having a separate office space like I do to eliminate distractions is invaluable. At best I go to the local coffee shop to concentrate. – Jared AtchisonWPForms
5. Social media
When I decided to track my daily activities in six-minute blocks, I realized: I was burning through a large portion of my life on social media. This not only affected my work life, but also my personal life. I ditched all personal social media accounts. Many people use social media as an alternative to giving up and doing what needs to be done. – Yaniv MasjediNextiva
6. Small-scale problems
As a business owner, your job is to keep an eye on the business as a whole. One of the problems I faced early on was an obsessive concern about small-scale problems. There are usually much bigger things going on, and I was focused on why Facebook wouldn’t share our posts right away. Delegate these small-scale responsibilities to employees and focus on the big picture. – David HenzelLTVPlus
7. Team communication
It’s important to stay in touch with your team members and answer any questions, especially as a remote company. But sometimes you need uninterrupted time to work and messages and emails are a distraction. To avoid this, I mute my notifications on Slack when I need to focus and only check my email once in the morning and once at the end of the day. – Stephanie WellsFormidable shapes
8. The need to multitask
We’re all used to the idea that multitasking is a valuable skill that we all have, but that’s not true. It’s almost impossible to multitask effectively without giving up some of your focus on another task. This makes tasks take longer, making your day more difficult. Don’t fall into this trap of working on one task at a time. You will see improved focus and productivity. – Blair WilliamsMembersPress
9. Notifications
Time blocking is the most important skill to learn to achieve maximum efficiency. When you’re in the zone and you get that notification, whether it’s email, social media, instant messenger, or text, you immediately become reactive instead of proactive. You lose. Turn off all notifications. Schedule time and you will be amazed at how efficient you can be. – Andrew Van Buren, Aventus Wealth
10. Small tasks
Small, easy-to-do tasks can easily add up to a huge block of time. It’s tempting to complete them first thing in the morning. But if you’re a morning person and spend your most productive hours doing this, you’ve wasted the best of yourself on what could have been better spent on an important project. Complete your most important tasks early in the day (or when you’re at your best). – Karlo TanjuakioGoLeanSixSigma.com
11. Decision fatigue
As an entrepreneur, you constantly have to make decisions about your business day in and day out, which can lead to decision fatigue. On average, we make about 35,000 decisions per day, which exhausts us mentally and emotionally. To avoid this, I like to get the hardest, time-consuming tasks out of the way first thing in the morning so they don’t distract me throughout the day. – Chris ChristopherMonsterInsights
12. Creative blocks
When I have creative blocks where I can’t focus on coming up with solutions or ideas, I take a break. But usually during these breaks I get distracted by other work or the internet, which doesn’t help me get over my creative block; it just distracts me. You can prevent this by taking a walk instead. A walk really helps refocus my thoughts and gets me back on track. – John TurnerSeedProd LLC