Surviving the heat at work; it's a recurring theme. Ideally, you would simply leave your work for what it is with these temperatures and sit on the beach. But the work has to be done anyway and you don't have many days off. Then get on with it. If you find the heat at your workplace unbearable, can you actually just decide to work from home? Or in another place? First of all, it really matters what kind of work you do. If you have a job in healthcare, construction or if you work with certain equipment, then working elsewhere will of course be a difficult story. But if you have work that you can do from anywhere, it is often up to you and your employer to make mutual agreements about working from home. Your employment contract may contain agreements about work locations and working from home. In principle, what it says there is binding and you have to stick to what you and your employer have agreed upon. But if the work...
There are so many stimuli coming at you today that it is sometimes very difficult to fully concentrate on your work. Recognizable? This means that you are easily distracted and so you can regain your focus.
We get much less done than in the past, says neuropsychologist Mark Tigchelaar in his book On/Off. According to him, we lose more than two hours of working time per day due to a lack of focus.
How come? Tigchelaar, who has been dealing with the theme of focus for fifteen years, points out four main reasons for this in his book:
1. You get too few incentives
Hey, what? Don't we get too many incentives? This may seem contradictory, but by nature people are open to many stimuli. In prehistoric times you had to be constantly on the lookout for, for example, approaching predators. As a result, your brain is focused on a multitude of stimuli and we are not used to focusing on one task. Instead, we look for stimuli ourselves. These can be external stimuli, such as social media, but also internal: thoughts and emotions from within yourself.
2. You have to switch between many different tasks
Constantly switching between tasks is disastrous for your focus. As a result, you keep your mind on several tasks at the same time, so that you cannot fully focus on that one task you are working on. If you continuously switch from one task to another, your pace can decrease by up to fifty percent.
3. You are always 'on' and take too little relaxation
Just eating that sandwich at the computer, hitting hard to get that work done for tomorrow, having a meeting during lunch… You may think that it makes you work better and more effectively, but just when you are always 'on', your brain can expensive no longer function properly. They then lack fuel and can no longer distinguish between important and unimportant stimuli.
4. There are too many external stimuli
So this is about social media and the overload of information that comes to you via the (online) world. This number of incentives has increased fivefold since the 1980s, says Tigchelaar. But everything that happens around you also falls under these external stimuli. Chatting or calling colleagues, for example. Or if you work from home; the TV, washing machine or your child demanding attention. Looking for these kinds of stimuli releases dopamine in your brain, which gives it an addictive effect.
What can you do now to focus better?
Now that you know why you are so easily distracted, what can you do to regain your focus? Eight tips:
Because your brain is searching anyway and naturally cannot concentrate on one task, it is best to actively look for an extra stimulus yourself. And then one that you don't have to consciously deal with. Listening to music while working , for example . It is best to listen to songs you already know and preferably in the same order. Radio is not a good idea, because it distracts you too much. Also by taking a walk when you want to discuss something important, you are looking for a calm external stimulus.
Only work on one task at a time and don't do several things at once. Set aside time for certain tasks (preferably twenty to twenty-five coins) and do them one by one and not next to each other.
Are there all kinds of other things running through your mind that you still need to do? Then write them down, for example in a bullet journal, so that you don't have to 'store' them in your head and they can no longer distract your thoughts.
Make sure you shut off as much as possible from external stimuli; turn off your notifications on your phone (temporarily) and also 'snooze' notifications from e-mail programs and internal chat systems on your work computer.
Take a break every now and then in between the hard work. That means no more looking at a screen and checking your social media, but consciously doing something else. And so really let go of what you were doing. Take a walk for example. That is also a good way to beat your afternoon slump .
Take your own responsibility and draw your own boundaries. Yes, even if the workload is high and you have a lot to do in a short time. For example, plan a break in just then, then you will see that you are also less bothered by all the distracting stimuli and you can also better define your tasks.
1. Actively look for stimuli that you do not have to consciously work with
Because your brain is searching anyway and naturally cannot concentrate on one task, it is best to actively look for an extra stimulus yourself. And then one that you don't have to consciously deal with. Listening to music while working , for example . It is best to listen to songs you already know and preferably in the same order. Radio is not a good idea, because it distracts you too much. Also by taking a walk when you want to discuss something important, you are looking for a calm external stimulus.
2. Make sure you switch between tasks as little as possible
Only work on one task at a time and don't do several things at once. Set aside time for certain tasks (preferably twenty to twenty-five coins) and do them one by one and not next to each other.
3. Write down thoughts that arise
Are there all kinds of other things running through your mind that you still need to do? Then write them down, for example in a bullet journal, so that you don't have to 'store' them in your head and they can no longer distract your thoughts.
4. Turn off notifications
Make sure you shut off as much as possible from external stimuli; turn off your notifications on your phone (temporarily) and also 'snooze' notifications from e-mail programs and internal chat systems on your work computer.
5. Take a real break
Take a break every now and then in between the hard work. That means no more looking at a screen and checking your social media, but consciously doing something else. And so really let go of what you were doing. Take a walk for example. That is also a good way to beat your afternoon slump .
6. High work pressure? Draw your own boundary
Take your own responsibility and draw your own boundaries. Yes, even if the workload is high and you have a lot to do in a short time. For example, plan a break in just then, then you will see that you are also less bothered by all the distracting stimuli and you can also better define your tasks.
7. Shut down (occasionally) in busy office environments
Are you in a busy office environment where you are easily distracted? Make sure you have noise-cancelling headphones. If people are constantly talking next to you, your productivity can decrease by sixty percent. Or - if possible - find a quiet space every now and then.
8. Focus yourself fit
The fitter you are, the better you can perform, also at work. You feel more comfortable in your own skin and can better deal with internal stimuli. So get a good night's sleep , eat healthy and get enough exercise. Conversely, better focus, and thus getting more done, leads to more satisfaction, which makes you feel better about yourself. So win-win.
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