To ask for your tips on how to focus at work

[tryingtosortmylifeout]

I've become quite behind at work recently and I think part of the reason is that I'm so easily distracted at work. I'd say I spend at least 15 minutes of every hour that I'm meant to be working lurking on Mumsnet, scouring Zoopla, looking at fashion websites or reading various news/gossip pages. I would love to be much more focused, productive and "time smart" so I could finish work earlier every day, get more done in the time that I'm there and not stress so much about wasting so much time on the internet.

AIBU to ask all you productive types out there who manage to squeeze every minute out of your work time, how you go about it?

I don't have my phone on me at work only for breaks, family have direct work number if there is an emergency.
Plan out my day and try to be task orientated, love a good list, crossing out a job/task done makes me feel very productive.

What do you do? Are you sitting at a computer all day?

Weekly planning of what tasks need to be done followed by daily to do lists which I put on a sticky in front of my computer so I can see them. I tick these as I go along.

The simple answer is don't open up any pages that are not work related.. I use one browser for work stuff and one for "home" stuff that I browse during my lunch hour. That way Mumsnet does not creep into work time.

To do lists. Regular catch up meetings with enthusiastic people so I can feed off their enthusiasm a bit. Targets. Projects. Long term aims and plans. Regular breaks even if just visiting someone rather than sending an email.

You can get apps and plugins that limit your social media and browser access - you can set a window of time where you cannot access them, if you don't have the self control not to open them

Have you heard of the Pomodoro method, OP? Have a google. Basically it's working undistracted in 20-minute chunks, then taking a 5-10 minute break and starting again. If you are in the zone, you skip the break and do another 20 minute chunk.

So 15 minutes out of every hour is totally fine, as long as it is balanced by 40-odd minutes of really focused and productive work.

Add those sites to your adblock. Or just don't go to them.
Put your phone away.

Phone away and, if your desk and work allows, position yourself away from the computer. Make a detailed to do list, maybe in a journal (ie an actual book not online) as to what you’re going to do and when. Block out chunks of time for each task, broken down into stages. This should help keep you accountable to yourself.

And a lot of willpower. I’m not being judgemental. I used to be exactly the same. The diary/journal helps a lot.

google the Pomodoro technique, lifechanging. Make sure you take the relevant 5 min breaks, get up do something different and stretch your legs though, otherwise you won't get the reset you need! x

Um...those sites are for personal time, not work time. Nothing to do with being a productive type or not

If I started looking at MN during work time I would never get anything done. It's bad enough for taking over my non-work time. If you manage to get off it after just 15 minutes then you have far more willpower than I do

My work rules are:
No personal t'internet at all, ever
Book time for long tasks in my own outlook diary (so no one else books a 30 min meeting right in the middle of the morning).
To do list with priorities highlighted. My list usually covers 2 weeks, a daily list would be pointless for my job as I need to be flexible.