# Distraction elimination list Imply to others when you want to work uninterrupted: - Close your office door. - Set aside time in a conference room for a project. - Wear headphones or a phone headset even if you're not listening to anything. - Schedule a "Do Not Disturb" time on your calendar. - Have a "no meetings" day if you need a whole day of uninterrupted work. - If you can, work odd hours to prevent others from interrupting you. Make long batches of similar work: - Group similar tasks together that you can do one after the other. - When the work is critical, carve out massive chunks of time when you can stay uninterrupted. Learn [tactful ways to say "no"](people-5_conflicts.md). Avoid water-cooler gossip. If you need more time to work, arrive late to casual social events or meetings. Before accepting a future invitation, ask if you'd accept it if it was happening tomorrow. ## Meetings and emails drain the most productivity You can get most meeting summaries by email: - Only agree to meetings that have a stated purpose and a clear agenda. - If someone needs an impromptu meeting with you, avoid small talk and ask, "What's up?" If you can't avoid a useless meeting, bring mindless work to it. Email is only useful for 3 things: 1. Coordinating meetings with multiple people. 2. Sending short and concise notes, file attachments, and links to attachments. 3. Sending newsletters. Try to only keep action items in your inbox and archive or delete the rest. Use a separate email address to sign up for marketing newsletters and promotions. Send less and better email to receive less: - Avoid back-and-forth email conversations by talking on the phone or in person. - Never convey sensitive or complex things over email. - Select words that prevent vagueness and misinterpretation. - Spend extra time on critical emails. - Never, *ever* ask "why?" in an email. Whenever possible, only touch each email once: - Flag or mark everything important or urgent as unread. - Archive non-action emails into folders or use filters. - Use labels to turn your email into a task manager. Unsubscribe from any newsletters instead of simply deleting them: - Search for "unsubscribe", "remove", or "opt-out" in your inbox to find them, or use a software service to automatically delete them. Aim for "Inbox Zero", where you think of your emails zero times when you're away from it. Create automatic email replies for frequent responses. If you know someone's cell phone provider, you can email them at (number)@(provider's website). ### Delegate what you dislike Hand off work to other people who would enjoy it more and do it faster. Use the 70% Rule: give the work to someone else if they can do 70% of it. Clarify your limits on their authority and what communications you expect. If the work isn't private or data-sensitive, send it to a freelancer. ## Create a distraction-free work space Put away all papers and items sitting on your desk except for what you're working on: - Action items remind you to do tasks, but also distract from your current task. - If you feel you *must* remember them, write the items on a single to-do list and file them away. - Put away desk toys. They're fun, but also distracting. - Hide any cords or wires coming out of the computer. - Put away clocks and only track time with alarms or a task light. Set your indoor temperature around 70--85 °F (20--30 °C) with shade or air conditioning. - Mind mixed company: women prefer an average of 2.5 °F (~-16 °C) warmer than men. Try to use natural sunlight from windows, blue-enriched light, or full-spectrum light. Open a window to let air in. Scent the air with lemon, jasmine, lavender, rosemary, cinnamon, or peppermint. Set a motivational poster, artwork, inspirational collage, or photo of loved ones in your field of view. Color coordinate: - Blue and green stimulate - Red increases energy - White simulates an "outdoor" feeling from reflecting light - Yellow inspires and increases concentration Decorate with potted plants: - Areca palms are natural humidifiers - Snake plants are air purifiers - Rosemary increases memory retention - Lemon balm and citrus improve mood - Pine and lavender reduce stress - Cinnamon and peppermint increase alertness - Cedarwood and vetiver help with focus Get a more comfortable, efficient, or elegant desk and chair: - Ergonomic or flexible desk chair - Medicine ball or yoga ball - Treadmill desk or standing desk ## Working from home If you're in a videoconference meeting, anything that changes the screen's color will reflect on your face and give away that you're not exclusively focused on that meeting. Separate your "home" and "work" activities: - Shower and get dressed in your work clothes every day you go to your office. - Your work area must be a "no personal effects" zone, and the rest of the house must be a "no work items" zone. - Don't do chores when on "work time". Have a strategy to avoid the increased distractions: - Set boundaries with family and friends. - Plan what and when you'll eat before starting work. - If you use a work computer for home activities, explicitly split the roles between the two with software constraints or a [dual-boot operating system](computers-os.md). Make sure you're done when you're done: - Have a clear wind-down routine if you do personal activities on your work computer. ## Kill technological distractions If you kill all consuming-based media (e.g., social media, television, video games), you will have *much* more time than you'd ever realize. Mobile device notifications sabotage focus. - Turn off notifications on a phone (or uninstall them) as soon as you see a useless one. Turn off your nonwork phone, set it to "Do Not Disturb" mode, or leave it in another room. Turn off social media, email, and text messages or set them to a flashing LED: - If possible, only check your phone every few hours - Instead of checking emails as they come, schedule up to 3 times a day to review and respond. - Change notifications' vibration patterns to feel which app is notifying you. Schedule emails to show up in your inbox when they become relevant, or use an automatic mail checker service. Forward spam texts to 7726 (SPAM) and the carrier will stop that service from sending them. Remove distractions with website blockers. Never answer work phone calls unless you know who's calling: - Set your ringtone for contacts you would rather not speak with as silent or your favorite song. - If you keep getting robocalls, add the numbers to a blocked contact called "SPAM" or "IGNORE". ## Use reminders Set time-based notifications for future tasks you know you have to act on. If you're busy focusing, set a notification to create a task an hour later when you're done with your current task. Use [geolocation-based](logistics-navigation.md) notifications for tasks you must perform at other locations.