怎么样集中精力工作？
在过去的几年中我在许多场所工作过。有一个项目甚至八十个人同时坐在一个开放的场所上班。在这种环境下工作就很难集中注意力。尽管现在我所在的项目已经比较小了，但是仍然有很多事情让你在工作的时候分心。那么有什么方法可以让我们把干扰和注意力分散最小化么？
以下是18种让我工作的时候集中精力的方法：
1 写下每天的任务以计划你的一天 没有什么比一张放在旁边的任务单更让你集中注意力了。当你写下当天需要完成的事项后，把它放在你的旁边可以不断提醒你要集中注意力。
2 分配出同事可以打扰你的时间 在一个忙碌的工作场所，大家不断的走动和谈论。如果你的工作角色要求其他成员和你交流，试着分配一个时间段可以让大家和你交流。让他们知道一天中的某个时间，比如下午两点到四点你可以被打扰，而不是每十分钟就被打扰。这样，在其他的时间，你就可以真正的做一些工作了。
3 使用时间表 在前面的一篇文章，我写了关于使用时间表的好处。在有限的时间段内完成一件事，比如30分钟，而不是做一件事直到完成。如果时间到了，工作可能已经完成。如果没有完成，再分配其他时间段，可能过几天再继续做。这样就可以保持工作的新鲜感，而不会因为老做一件事而疲惫。
4 设置邮件过滤 如果你在计算机面前花费大量的时间在计划和联系上，你可能要频繁的处理电子邮件。设置你的电子邮件客户端可以区分什么是重要的，什么是可以等待的。这样你就只需要处理根据项目、优先级和内容分类的文件夹而不是成百上千的未读邮件。
5 不要在早上检查私人邮件 在早上检查私人邮件是很让人分心的事，即使你设置了邮件过滤。特别是当你的朋友发给你有意思的文章、笑话或者Youtube上面的视频链接。如果你不小心，你可能就一下子陷进去几小时。当你开机就开始工作而不检查私人邮件。要在完成一些任务或者已经开始进入工作状态后检查私人邮件。如果你不想被分心，等到工作完后再回复。
6 设置即时通讯软件的状态 如果你有使用即时通讯软件而不想被打扰，可以把它设置成离线或者正在工作的状态，这样你的朋友或者同事就会改成给你发邮件或者在你不忙的时候找你。
7 听合适的音乐 音乐是一种很好的让你进入工作状态的办法。另外，听音乐可以让你不受打印机和聊天声音的干扰。但是要注意，根据个人的不同，有的音乐是不适合在工作的时候听的。对我来说，工作的时候如果听有很多歌词的音乐就会打断我的思维。
8 使用耳机但是关掉音乐 有些人喜欢在工作的时候是完全安静的。我想这也是根据工作类型决定的。如果你做一些严密的计划或计算工作，在耳边放音乐也许就不能让你集中注意力。这时你可以戴上没有放音乐的耳机以屏蔽外界的噪音。
9 把你的水瓶装满水 不管出于什么理由，足够的水对你的健康都很重要。在一天开始的时候就往水瓶装满足够的水而不是每一小时就去装一次水。这样你就不需要每次排队等打水，也不会和打水的人聊起来。
10 找一个最适合做重复和无聊工作的时间 不管你怎么逃避，你都要面对一些无聊或者重复的事情。对于这些事，我发现最好在一天的某些时候来做。比如，在一天开始的时候我就不会做这些事，我会做一些比较需要动脑筋的工作。我经常把重复工作放在一天结束的时候比较累的时候来做。
11 带你的午饭到办公桌 我不建议你每天都这么做，但如果你这得需要集中注意力并且在一个最后的期限前完成任务，在办公桌上吃午饭很有帮助。我发现当我在办公桌上吃午饭的时候，我的午休时间就会更短，也可以在吃饭的时候检查几封邮件。当我吃完后我又可以直接回去工作。
12 不要长时间打私人电话 大部分人都能分清工作和生活（或者说尝试着分清）。我们都希望在我们的私人时间不要受工作的影响。反之也成立。试着限制在工作时候做私人事情的时间，不然这样会分散你的注意力和工作的动力。你肯定不希望在需要完成一件重要的事的时候还想着周末和老婆出去玩的事。
13 清理你的桌面 你的桌面也许只能用混乱来形容。 如果你不需要花太多时间就能够找到你需要的东西的话，这也不算是一件坏事。但是，如果你不能够迅速找到你要的东西，我建议你清理一下你的桌面。这并不是说要让这张桌子什么东西都没有，而是指如果你需要一件东西的时候，你能够随手就拿到。比如，当你需要一个地方写字的时候，让笔和纸放在一个你很容易就拿到的地方，这很有帮助。
14 找一张好的椅子 如果你在桌子旁坐上几个小时（我相信你需要这样），你就会发现有一张好椅子是多么的有帮助。我发现当因为桌椅不合适导致我的颈和背部很酸的时候要集中精力是一件很难的事。一张好的椅子就能够避免这种问题，它可以让你在长时间工作的时候不会因为身体上的不舒服被打断。
15 在桌面上使用快捷方式 如果你发现用你的一天用计算机做同一件事多于一次的时候，你会发现这样做可以少很多重复工作。如果你发现一个项目的文件夹你需要不断的进入的时候，试着增加一个快捷方式，这样你就可以一下子就点击进去而不需要一个接着一个的打开文件夹。
16 关闭不需要的程序 作为一个软件工程师，我使用一些对工作很重要的程序。但是在很多情况下，我只需要同时打开很少的几个程序。只打开你需要的程序，不要老是按 Alt-Tab不断切换让计算机寻找你要的程序。把没用的程序关闭。例如，如果你已经打开一个文件，不再需要查找工具了，你就可以把它关闭。因为已经没有理由把它开着了。
17 限制在Digg, Delicious, 新闻网站和blog上面的时间 我觉得这方面不需要说太多。要知道网上有多少的站点。Digg, Delicious,新闻站点和blogs从互联网方面来讲是好的，但他们会让你在需要工作的时候分心。试着在工作时间的时候限制上这些站点的时间。如果你真的想上，在午休的时候上。不要每过几分钟想上网的时候就移动你的拇指。
18 改变你的观念，让工作变得有意思 对我来说，做一件自己不喜欢的事情要集中注意力是一件很难的事。在多数情况下，可能什么也做不了。但是，也要注意到对于工作的感觉也是可以控制的这个事实。我最后的建议是改变你的观点，把工作当作游戏。注意力不集中，是因为没有挑战，所以让事情变得有意思起来吧。
我希望这些建议让你在工作的时候更加集中注意力，更加富有创造性。
祝你好运！如果你喜欢这篇文章，告诉你的朋友，Digg it或者加入到你的Delicious书签吧。
嘿，你还在这干什么？该回去工作了。
注：翻译有部分删除。翻译本文主要出于学习的目的。如果你英语比较熟练，建议读原文。
18 Ways to Stay Focused at Work
Over the years I have worked at many client sites and a variety of office layouts. On one project in particular, we had as many as 80 people in a project team, seated via an open plan arrangement. It was pretty difficult trying to stay focused in an environment like this. These days, the projects I’m on are typically smaller, but there are still a number of distractions which frequently interrupt my working groove. So what are some of the things we can do to minimise such interruptions and distractions?
Here’s my list of 18 ways to stay focused at work:
Write out a daily task list and plan your day. There’s nothing like a task list sitting next to you to keep you focused. When you have a list of the things you need to accomplish in a day, having that close to you constantly reminding you of what needs to be done is a great way of keeping on track. Allocate time slots colleagues can interrupt you. In a busy work place, people are moving and talking all the time. If you play a role in a team where others need to interact with you, try allocating a time slot they can interrupt you. Instead of having people stop by your desk every 10 mins and asking you questions, let them know of a time in the day, say between 2-4pm you can be interrupted. At all other times, you can really get some work done. Apply time boxing. In a previous article, I wrote about the benefits of time boxing. Instead of working at something till it is done, try working on it for a limited period, say 30 mins. By that time, the task is either completed or you allocate another time slot, perhaps in another day, to pick it up again. This way, you keep your work fresh and engaging throughout the entire working day. Setup filters in your email. If you spend a lot of your time communicating and planning in front of your computer, chances are you deal with emails on a frequent basis. Setting up filters in your email client can be a great way of sorting out what’s important and urgent from personal stuff which can wait. Instead of dealing with a single Inbox with hundreds of unread email, you only need to deal with smaller folders categorised by project, priority and context. Do not check personal email in the morning. Checking personal emails can be very distracting even with filters setup. This is especially true when your friends send you links to interesting articles, jokes or videos on YouTube. If you’re not careful, you can get side tracked for hours. Instead of checking your personal email as soon as you get in, try starting work straight away. This will build up some momentum as you ease into your work day. You should check your personal email only after you have a few tasks completed or underway. Also, if you don’t want to perpetuate a particular distracting email thread, just don’t reply to it until after work. Set your IM status. If you use Instant Messenger, when you don’t want to be disturbed, make use of the status and set yourself as being away or busy. Your friends and colleagues will honour that. They can either send you an email or look you up later when you aren’t as busy. Listen to the right types of music. Music is a great way of settling into the working routine. In addition, having music can drown out office noises like printers and background chattering. Be careful though, depending on personal preference, some types of music are not particularly conducive to productive work. For me, I can’t work when listening to songs with lots of lyrics because the words interrupt my thinking process. Use the headphones but leave the music off. Some people prefer to have absolute silence when working. I think that also depends on what kind of work you are doing. If you’re doing some serious planning or something computational, having music blasting in your ears may not be the best thing for keeping focused. Try using headphones or ear plugs to block out the background noise but leave the music off. Fill up a water bottle. Keeping yourself hydrated is pretty important for all sorts of health reasons. Instead of going to the water cooler with your glass every hour, try filling up a water bottle at the start of the day. This does a couple of things - firstly, it limits the starts/stops associated every time you get up for water and secondly, it avoids being sucked into lengthy discussions around the water cooler. Find the best time to do repetitive and boring tasks. No matter how much you try to avoid it, you’re going to have to face doing things which are either repetitive or boring. For these tasks, I find it is best to choose a time in the day to work on them. For example, I’m more alert at the start of the day, so it’s better to work on things which require brain power early. Working on boring tasks that can be done via auto-pilot are better left towards the end of the day when I’m usually tired. Bring your lunch and have it at your desk. I’m not suggesting you do this every day, but if you really have to focus and are trying to meet a deadline, having your lunch at your desk really helps. The normal one hour lunch break can really interrupt any momentum you might have built up during the morning. I find when I’m eating lunch at my desk, my lunch breaks are shorter and I can get through a few emails while I’m eating. After I’m done, I’m straight back working on the next task. Don’t make long personal calls. Most of us have a good separation between our working and personal lives (or a least try to). I think we can all agree we should avoid having work intrude on our personal time as much as possible. The reverse of this also applies. Try limiting the time you spend doing personal things during work as they can be distracting and draining on your motivation. For example, you do not really want to be thinking about your weekend away with your spouse when you really need to get things done. Clean up your desk. Some of you may have desks which can only be described as ordered chaos. That’s not necessarily a bad thing as long as you can find what you need without too much digging around. However, if you can’t, I suggest cleaning up your desk. That doesn’t mean having an empty desk, it just means having neat stacks of paper, all filed in the correct location. It also helps tremendously having all the things you need easily within arms reach. For example, if you need a place to write, having your pen and notepad close by and easily accessible is incredibly useful. Get a good chair. If you sit for long hours at your desk and I’m sure some of you do, you might find it helpful to get a good chair. I find it’s pretty hard to stay focused when my neck and back are sore because I have a bad setup at my desk. A good chair can eliminate this, allowing you to work for long stretches without breaks and physical distractions. Use shortcuts on your computer. If you find you do the same thing with your computer more than once throughout the day, you might find it helpful to look for ways in which you can do them without too much manual repetition. For example, if there’s a project folder you access all the time, try adding a shortcut to your Explorer or Finder so you can get access to it with a single click, instead of expanding folder after folder in the tree panel. Close programs you’re not using. As a software engineer, I use a lot of programs important to my work. However, in most cases, I only need a few applications open at the same time. Instead of Alt-Tabbing constantly and fighting the computer to locate the program you need, try only having the applications you need open. Close everything else. For example, if you have already located a file and no longer need a particular Explorer or Finder instance open, close it. There’s no reason to leave it around at all. Limit time on Digg, Delicious, news sites and blogs. I don’t think I need to say too much about this. There are so many sites on the Internet worth looking at, including this site
. Digg, Delicious, news and blogs are great from an interest perspective, but they can really take you away from the work you should be working on. Try to limit going to these sites during the working day. If you really have to, try doing it during your lunch time. No, you don’t need to have your finger on the pulse every single minute of the day… Change your mindset and make work fun. For me, I find it difficult to stay focused on doing things I’m not by nature interested in doing. In most cases, there’s probably nothing I can do about it. However, be mindful of the fact that your perception of work is something you can control. For my last tip here, I suggest you try changing your mindset or turning work into a game. An unfocused mind, is an unchallenged mind. So make things fun!
I hope these tips will take you closer to more focused and productive work days. If you are still in need for more tips about staying focused, you can take a look at a previous blockbuster smash hit article I wrote entitled 11 ways of staying focused. In that article, I approached the issue from a top down, rather than bottom up perspective.
Ok, good luck! If you like this article, tell your friends, Digg it or add it to your Delicious bookmarks.
Hey, what are you still doing here? Get back to work!
