Do you feel distracted in your digital life?
Rest assured, you’re not alone. Every day, we face a barrage of texts, emails, Facebook updates, Foursquare check-ins, Skype chats, Tweets and so on. On top of this, our personal productivity is frequently interrupted by those around us. As digital marketers, it’s our responsibility to have solid time management skills in the face of technology that threatens to waste our time.
The following are the top five Dragons of Digital Distractedness (as we see them) and the time management skills you can use to slay them in your workplace.
1) The ASAP Dragon
Symptoms: Feeling rushed, over-reliance on project managers or stakeholders, constantly putting out fires.
Of all the dragons, this time management enemy is the most prolific and cunning. We all receive the ASAP request on a regular basis. We scramble. We rush. We shift from our valuable task-at-hand to what inherently must be done first. At the end of the day, our to-do list sits abandoned and coffee-stained.
Slay this dragon by arriving earlier than others and complete tasks before the afternoon rolls around. Involve yourself in the project planning process as much as you can, in order to raise potential flags up front. This will reduce the risk of fires down the line.
2) The Bad Habits Dragon
Symptoms: Lack of focus, 10+ browser tabs open at the same time.
We’ve all developed bad digital habits that threaten our personal productivity. We check Facebook without realizing it. We watch a funny YouTube video a co-worker sent during a meeting. Nothing kills your time management strategy more than bad habits.
Slay this dragon with software. Attention management is key, try Focus Booster for better time management and I Am Studying to block out social media sites while you work.
3) The Overpromising Dragon
Symptoms: Have trouble saying NO, Frequently miss deadlines.
When we’re stressed and busy for long periods of time, our brains don’t perform as well. We struggle to assess how much time everything will take. We’re ambitious, so we overpromise. We lose focus of what matters because we’re rushing to get everything done.
Slay this dragon by following Seth Godin’s advice on being a truth teller. If you don’t know how long it will take or aren’t sure you can finish something, say so. Time management is a journey, not a destination.
4) The Burnout Dragon
Symptoms: Pounding coffee all day, Feelings of apathy towards work.
At some point we reach our digital limit. We’ve been feverishly coding, implementing AdWords campaigns and designing websites for months. Fatigue sets in and our personal productivity takes a nosedive.
Slay this dragon with advice from Baratunde Thurston and unplug for a while. Maybe not for an entire month, but at least give yourself a few days. You’ll come back refreshed and less distracted.
5) The Email & Notifications Dragon
Symptoms: Incessantly checking phone, constantly switching between email, social media and work-related tasks.
Most of us check our email every two minutes. We get push notifications when someone likes our Instagram photo. We live from our inboxes, trying desperately to complete tasks based on the requests that come in via email and notifications. This is a reactionary dragon. It will kill your time management and personal productivity completely if left alone. You’ll never be able to keep up and you certainly won’t stay focused this way.
Slay this dragon with process. Try the inbox zero method. Schedule your communication (yes that means Facebook and Twitter) and use social media aggregators to be proactive versus reactive. You’ll get more done and be happier, too.
How do you improve your personal productivity? Let us know how you stay focused below.
