7 Simple Ways to Eliminate Distractions

Mark Pettit
4 min readDec 19, 2020
7 ways to eliminate distractions by Mark Pettit. Image Gabrielle Henderson @Unsplash.

Learning how to eliminate distractions and stay focused is a key capability to develop if you want to increase your productivity at work.

Your ability to stay focused and manage distractions, is a critical factor in whether you achieve a productive day or not.

The distractions that surround you aren’t going anywhere. If anything, the number of distractions you face will increase. Learning how to eliminate distractions is one of the best things you can do for yourself if you want to achieve your goals.

Getting your most important work done each day is essential, and focus is the key to staying productive.

You cannot eliminate distractions unless you acknowledge that you’re distracted.

When you identify the cause of your distractions, you can put in place a plan to eliminate them.

With effective planning and an intentional focus to manage your time, you can overcome your distractions and get your most important work done each day.

If you want to eliminate distractions and increase your focus at work, these 7 simple tips will help.

7 Simple Tips to Eliminate Distractions

Use these 7 simple tips to eliminate distractions.

1. Create a distraction free environment

With so many distractions competing for your attention, it’s important to remove distractions that are obvious to you. It’s easy to feel distracted when your mind is cluttered or your workspace is cluttered or disorganised.

If you have notifications popping up when you’re trying to focus it’s easy to get distracted. Identify your biggest distractions and eliminate them one by one so you can improve your focus.

2. Block time to avoid distraction

When you switch between tasks it’s easy to get distracted. To eliminate distractions it’s important to get your mind focused on just one tasks.

Schedule an important tasks and then block time to work on that task to remove distractions.

It takes concentrated time to accomplish anything worthwhile. Get clear on a result you want to achieve and set a specific period of time to complete that task in.

It’s easier to stay focused when you can concentrate on one thing, and be fully focused on it.

3. Take regular breaks

It’s essential to take regular breaks to eliminate distractions and stay focused. To achieve bigger and better results, you have to take breaks to keep your energy and motivation high.

When you take regular breaks you can maintain your focus and be more productive. Taking breaks ensures you don’t feel distracted doing your most important work.

4. Set daily goals

To overcome distractions set daily goals to maintain focus. When you have a lot going on, simplifying your day to only your most crucial activities ensures you don’t get distracted.

You can break those daily goals down into smaller tasks to help you concentrate.

Achieving a small number of daily goals boosts motivation and ensures you end the day with a sense of accomplishment and progress.

5. Break the distraction habit

To break the distraction habits begin building habits that help you eliminate distractions and ensure you stay focused.

Look at the daily habits you have that cause you to feel or be distracted. Then start eliminating the distractions one at a time.

This might mean starting work an hour earlier. Taking a lunch break. Meditating or exercising during the day.

Changing habits might feel like a simple thing but it takes commitment to pull it off. But, changing one thing might be transformational.

6. Have an intentional focus

Start being intentional about everything you do if you want to eliminate distractions.

When you’re intentional, you know exactly what you want to achieve in any situation.

This intentionality helps you stay focused on the results you want to achieve, because you’ve identified it up front.

Being intentional removes distractions and increases focus.

7. Plan in advance

It’s easy to get distracted if you don’t have a clear plan for your day. To eliminate distractions make planning an essential part of your work day.

Plan your week in advance on a Friday or Sunday so you know exactly where to invest your time on a Monday morning.

This ensures you don’t start the week getting distracted.

Plan each day the night before so you start the day fully focused. Identify three things you want to get done in order for your day to be productive.

Summing Up

With everything we have going on at work it’s easy to get distracted. If you want to stay focused and eliminate your distractions, give some of these tips a try.

If you can eliminate distractions from your work life you can be more productive and achieve bigger and better results in less time.

Let me know how you get on and whether you’re feeling more effective and less distracted. Simply leave a comment.

This article was originally published on the Lucemi Consulting blog.

Visit Lucemi Consulting to get more productivity tips and strategies.

Download my Free Daily Planner to ensure you remove distractions and plan a productive day, every day.

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Mark Pettit

Time Management Coach and Business Coach. Founder of time management coaching company Lucemi Consulting. https://lucemiconsulting.co.uk/