Squirrel Protection

"SQUIRREL!"

Many have seen the touching Pixar film, UP. In a few different moments throughout the movie, the canine characters display what happens to us all at any given moment during the work day. No matter how focused and committed we may be to a given moment, task, or conversation, all it takes is one ping, chirp, or silent notification badge to pop up and away goes our attention - even if just for a second.

One thing that the dogs seem to do well in UP is to return right back to the moment and pick up right where they left off. Studies show that this may not quite be the case with us.

A Harvard Business Review study showed that after an interruption, it takes a human being 20 minutes to regain full concentration. While I have not gone as far as measuring this for myself, I can think of dozens of times a simple task took me 4-5 times as long as it should have because of a couple of non-urgent texts or an e-mail that popped up midway through what I was trying to accomplish.

Armed with this fact, and knowing that we all have a few important items to get accomplished today, won't we be better served and more productive if we apply a little squirrel protection to our environments when needed?

Turn off your notifications and put your phone in a drawer.

Close out of your corporate e-mail until you finish what needs your attention.

Once you're done, you will be able to better respond and handle any messages that came your way without the frustration that often comes from feeling interrupted and knowing that you need to get back to what you were working on.

Find another gear today by setting yourself up for success with the important tasks on your to-do list.

Good luck!