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Plan for interruptions rotate objects, then listening to your favourite
If you do need to break off, or get pulled away, music before you start can improve your
try to find a natural pause in your work. Research performance for a short period of time.
shows that dealing with interruptions between But for tasks that involve remembering things
tasks is less disruptive than stopping what you in order or understanding the meaning of text
are doing in the moment and trying to pick it up - such as mental arithmetic and reading and
again later. You might want to quickly note down writing – your brain will process background
key points that were foremost in your mind, or music as distraction. It doesn’t matter if it’s music
leave the mouse cursor on the position reached you like or dislike, or even whether the music
in an article. These cues can help you to pick up is loud or quiet – studies show that you will be
where you left off. Even just pausing to make a more prone to making errors.
mental note of what you were about to do next, Ultimately, heading back to the workplace
can be beneficial when you come to resume.
is going to mean an adjustment period and
Consider music (depending what you’re doing) some level of compromise when it comes to
noise levels and interruptions. But, with many
Research shows that it’s easier to work in quieter companies taking a flexible approach to remote
spaces, but some people feel that listening to and office working, hopefully you’ll be able to
music can be beneficial.Research has shown, for find a balance (and noise level) that suits you
example, that if your task is design-based – such wherever you are.
as product design or architecture – and if the
task you are working on requires you to mentally theconversation.com
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10 August/September 2021
