The most straightforward way to increase your productivity is to eliminate distractions. It is hard to stay productive without focus. Once you have set your priorities (see my post on that here) it is time to get to work on them. Decide what you should be working on and do it.

We have become a society that is so open to what is out there that we forget to focus on what is right in front of us. Our phones, tablets and laptops are doors to vast amount of knowledge and instant access to current events around the world. It is hard to say no to something like that. With the addition of smart watches, you no longer need to even pick up your phone, just look at your watch to see the latest headline, email or tweet that buzzed your way. Without mental and physical focus we become like a pinball, bounced around a playing field of lights, bells and whistles.

Focus takes work. It takes planning. It takes knowing your priorities and sticking to them. Distractions take away from your focus and create a decrease in productivity. John Lee Dumas (of Entrepreneur On Fire) says we have to “Follow One Course Until Success.” When you change your focus it pulls you off course, meaning you have to re-correct and get back to on task. Any minor distraction can lead you off course: a knock on your door, a phone call, text messages, children wanting to play Legos. Each of these things may be important but running after all of them at once will get none of them done.

Your priorities and a plan help tremendously with the problem of distractions. Legos are not specifically a priority for me but spending time with my 2 boys is high on my list of things to do. When I set my plan for the day or week it has family time and playtime set aside. I would spend way more time at home with my family if I could but I know that bills have to get paid and we need to eat so that means I have to make some money. When I’m at work, I don’t take Legos to play with or sit and read children’s books. And that also means I do not work on diagramming business processes or testing software when I am at home reading to my kids. These priorities have their own time and should be done when it is best for each. It would not be wise of me to schedule playtime at home after 10pm or before 7am. Although my boys don’t care what time it is, it would wreak havoc on our lives and their health! So I use those time (late nights and early morning) to work on blog posts, emails, and work activities that need to be caught up from the 9-5.

I wish carrying this out was as easy as it sounds when I type it. Unfortunately, 24-hour/day access to computer and email, kids activities during working hours, and many other things cause conflicts with my priorities. Just this morning as I was writing this post when my son woke up an hour before he “was supposed to” get up. Suddenly I had to choose between 2 important things when the second was out of schedule. This morning, I decided the blog could wait and I spent time with my son. There are times, however, when I have to make the tough choice of leaving my family during a struggle or a particularly encouraging time to attend meetings or get work done. There is no easy answer for these conflicts of priorities and each one is slightly different. If you know your values and set your priorities then you can focus on the right thing at the right time.

Focus your attention on the right priorities at the right times and you will see a boost in your productivity. Check back next week for my top tips and tools to help you increase productivity.

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