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Elif Duran

What are your go-to strategies for staying focused and minimizing distractions during work hours?

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Hello Product Hunt community! 🌟 We all know that staying focused during work can be a challenge, especially in today's fast-paced world. So, I'm curious, what are your tried-and-true strategies for maintaining productivity and minimizing distractions? Share your tips and tricks below! BeforeSunset AI designed to assist you in planning and managing your tasks efficiently. We are launching new set of features and Teams version this week, don't miss out: https://www.producthunt.com/post...

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Alexandr Builov
Hey Elif! Love the discussion here. I also swear by setting specific goals and eliminating notifications. Additionally, I find occasional breaks and a tidy workspace can work wonders. Excited for BeforeSunset's new features! 🚀
Elif Duran
@builov84 Thanks Alexandr! How do you manage team sync, about the availability or what they are working on now, or are they off today; without interrupting someone?
For me what has worked best has been organizing the day in three parts. Morning time focused on emails, drafting, and all other "office" style tasks. Afternoon calls and teamwork. Evening for urgencies and focus heavy tasks where one doesn't want to get interrupted no matter what. On top of that trying to convert all message-heavy conversations into quick calls, and moving all emails and chats to a separate screen.
Elif Duran
@losid How do you manage the interruptions when you are focused, if your teammates wants to reach you? How do you inform them you are working focused?
@elifduran luckily we don't use office phones nowadays, so there are no unexpected interruptions unless someone comes to your desk and asks you about something. In that case I would either tell them let's check together in XX minutes or X hours until I finish what I'm working on.
Ashleigh McCabe
For me definitely making to do lists and putting my phone away to avoid the temptation of checking it and then getting distracted
Milica Begović
What works for me: - to-do lists by highest priority - smartphone in another room (when remote) and paused notifications (when in the office) - frequent short breaks and stretches (it helps with blood flow and circulation, thus maintaining longer periods of quality focus + eliminating back and neck pain from sitting for 8h+) - eating daily meals at the same time (it helps with consistent energy levels and focus)
Elif Duran
@milica_begovic Great tips Milica! For the team sync, how do you inform your teammates that you are focusing?
Milica Begović
@elifduran Daily meetings (Zoom or live) + Slack updates + we plan remote/office days in advance and according to task type and priority. What do you do in this case?
Elif Duran
@milica_begovic We use BeforeSunset to keep the team updated. Through the team feed feature, everyone have the option to share what they are working on, whether they are on a break, express their feelings, or even mention their weekly work locations if they choose to do so. This practice ensures our team stays synchronized, streamlining communication and minimizing interruptions. Slack or Zoom is the platform we use when we really need to communicate or share news with everyone; otherwise, no one gets interrupted from their focused work.
Milica Begović
@elifduran I will look into it. It sounds very interesting ✨
Great discussion topic, Elif! Personally, as a marketer, I want to be as close in contact with my target market while working. So I tend to work in cafés where most do remote work. I observe them and this informs my marketing campaigns. Worse thing to do as a marketer is to do stuff in a silo and in isolation - or from the perspective of the company. Plus working in public naturally discourages my visiting of youtube or extended use of social media. Everyone wants to look busy and accomplished in a public setting, so I'm using that mentally to work for me.
Clyde Garrett
@rockyperezz 😂 great idea!
Ben
Here’s my personal list : - Set specific goals - Eliminate phone notifications - Prioritize tasks - Practice mindfulness 👌
Elif Duran
@ben_vrn For me, only creating todo list is not working; I have to see my schedule and place all my todos to the calendar to see if I have enough time for everything I want. The notifications, everybody is fighting against them :D
Kia Kamgar
Minimised notifications Removed superfluous tools Stopped using automations
Ananda_H
Block time in G calendar for my priorities in advance!
Elif Duran
@ananda_hsu You should definitely check the BeforeSunset. The upcoming feature; weekly planning can be very useful for you if you like putting todos into your calendar!
Patrick Ewers
What works best for me is having a dedicated Whitespace Time: a weekly block of 3-4 hours built into your calendar that’s completely dedicated to the Maker’s Schedule. This will allow you to focus solely on creative problem-solving and proactive projects instead of reactively doing tasks. To learn more about it, you can read this article: https://hubs.li/Q02750tV0
Bonni
There are 3 things I do in particular that keep me locked in. 1. Set specific goals to be done in X amount of time (25-min block, day, week, etc.). I do this with a 1-2 lists as well as Trello. 2. Use the Pomodoro method or other time-blocking strategies to focus on prioritized tasks. 3. Turn off phone notifications. Being intentional with phone use throughout the day is a big one for me. Looking forward to seeing the new features!
Dave-Anthony Smith
I don't force myself to not be distracted. That in and of itself becomes a distraction. Its natural for your focus to shift, especially if you've been working on something for a few hours. Interestingly, I've had some amazing creative ideas or bursts of motivation while being "distracted." I just go with the flow. It's okay to take a break from what you're doing and allow yourself to be distracted every now and then. Just don't make it a prolonged distraction.
Erick Philbert
my personal tips are: Paying attention to small details, i stay quit five minutes before start working and practicing mindfulness and gratitude.
KC Onrade
Creating my to-do list, target completion and dependencies on each task. Then headphones on to get started with my day.
Artyom Sviridov
Deadlines & listening to music during work.
AmazingSylvia
That is my approach: write down a to do list daily and when I finish one of the tasks on it. Never touch my phone during working time.