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that they shouldn’t disturb you unless it’s 7. Use Third Spaces
legitimately urgent. This could be as simple as As Sue Shellenbarger wrote for The Wall
a pair of headphones. Street Journal, “All of this social engineering
(open-plan offices) has created endless
4. Avoid Calendar Tetris distractions that draw employees’ eyes
In today’s workplace, it’s a widely accepted away from their own screens. Visual noise,
norm that others can book time in your the activity or movement around the edges
calendar, usually at the expense of your own of an employee’s field of vision, can erode
priorities. concentration and disrupt analytical thinking or
creativity.”
Basecamp CEO, Jason Fried, told me on an
episode of the Future Squared podcast that at If you’re struggling with open-plan offices,
Basecamp, you can’t book time in someone’s then try to incorporate more third-space work
calendar without first getting buy-in. This into your day for critical thinking; try to find a
means that most meetings just don’t happen quiet space in the office, a serviced office, or
because the would-be meeting organizer negotiate some time to work from home.
usually opts for a phone call or an instant
message instead. 8. Turn off Push Notifications
The average executive receives 46 push
Alternatively, consider blocking out meeting- notifications per day. To avoid our Pavlovian
free zones on your calendar, or using a impulses to respond on cue, simply turn off
meeting scheduling tool such as Calendly your push notifications. Find out how here.
so that people book meetings with you only
during scheduled windows, leaving the rest 9. Use Airplane Mode
of the day free for focus, and ensuring that
you avoid the email tennis matches that You can also use airplane mode to limit text
scheduling meetings often degenerates into. message and phone call interruptions during
certain times of day. If the idea of doing this
5. Close the Loop on Meetings gives you anxiety, you can always exempt
Instead of risking follow-up interruptions and specific numbers, such as those of loved ones
or valued and important business associates.
a meeting to discuss the previous meeting, You can set “Do Not Disturb” mode on an
ensure that you leave each meeting with iPhone to allow your designated “favorite”
actionable next steps, clearly assigned contacts to get through, while silencing other
responsibilities, and due dates.
calls or messages.
6. Stop Using “Reply All” 10. Limit Layers of Approval
Reply All, used as a mechanism to share While harder to implement, becoming a
accountability, only adds unnecessary chatter “minimum viable bureaucracy” — stripping
to people’s inboxes and headspace. Take away unnecessary layers of approvals
more ownership over your decisions and only required to get trivial and not-so-consequential
email people who need to be informed.
things done — means that there will be less
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