These are called distraction and they are your enemy!
You need to fight back and identify them!
Here they are:
- Surfing the net
- Social calls
- Procrastination
- Irrelevant tasks
- Long lunches
- Too frequent breaks
- Etc.
Let's take the example of emails.
When you enter your inbox, you enter a battle field!
Your finger is already on the delete button ready to get rid of spam and unwanted ads.
You need to be VERY fast and give yourself a time limit!
5 min is a good one!
Give yourself 5 min to step in - Do what you have to do - Step out!
With social calls from friends and family, it is the same story.
Put it this way: unless you make these cold calls your kids might not have food on their plate next month (sorry of the extreme image ;) - It is just to make a point)
So, if a friend calls, keep it VERY short: "Hey... I am about to go for a meeting - I need to go - Bye!"
These are called PROFESSIONAL BOUNDARIES!
If you want success with your career, you need to protect your work space!
If anyone can come in and distract you from what you have to do, it destroys your productivity, right?
Pick up your weapons and be diplomatic but firm!
These are only a couple of examples, but you get the message, right?
KILL DISTRACTIONS!