Can You Really Raise Productivity While Reducing Stress?

by | Blog

Imagine how well the writing of the Declaration of Independence would have gone if a cell phone had been beeping and buzzing next to Thomas Jefferson?  From ubiquitous electronics to loud colleagues, our brains relentlessly have to deal with distractions.   As a result, most of us find our nervous systems in a perpetual state of tension where the constant interruptions from devices and humans alike, prevent us from ever being able to finish a thought, much less a task.

The net effect is living under a level of chronic stress that erodes our ability to focus and stay present.   Also at the core of chronic stress is the phenomenon of external demands that then trigger internal conditioning.  For example, your boss asks you to step up a project and your mind goes into hyper-drive worrying that it won’t make the grade.  How can you pay full attention to the task in front of you when now even your own brain is generating thoughts and feelings that feed the fires of worried distraction and stress?

It is a fact that our brains have not yet evolved to a point where were can focus on two things at once.  Multi-tasking in reality, then means that your attention usually goes back and forth between two sources of stimuli.  Studies show that we lose 40% of our efficiency trying to do two things at once, such as reading emails and listening to what is being said in a meeting, How productive are we when we only processed half of what was decided would be our department’s plan of action?  How much time will we spend having to double back and ask questions to fill in the gaps? Even more importantly, how was our lack of attention experienced by the people around the table?

Below are some tips to reduce your stress, lower the temptation to multi-task and create an inner environment to be more productive:

1.  Develop & honor a habit of turning the phone OFF.   Maybe it’s just for an hour a day—maybe it’s whenever you are having a face-to-face meeting.  Allow yourself control over what distractions you can eliminate, even if its only for a short stints of time.

2.  For the distractions you can’t turn off – consider re-enrolling those buzzes and beeps to be reminders to breathe.  This changes the association to these sounds to one of rejuvenation, instead of demand.

3.  Meditate—even for 2 minutes at a time. (Many people find 10-30 minutes optimal)  Think of it as hitting the refresh button on your mind.  The effects of regular meditation are cumulative over the day and tend to help a person feel calmer and in better control of their focus and schedule well past the meditation.

4.  Get curious.  Keep yourself fully in the conversation by observing the energy in the room, taking in body language and asking questions.

5.  Notice your progress.  See how staying in the present during the morning sales meeting gave you the clarity of the issues to better express your own ideas and follow through on action steps.

About Sojourn

Sojourn Partners is a results-driven executive leadership coaching firm that empowers the professional workforce to think differently in order to realize the full return on investment in themselves and their companies. Professional leadership thinking and intervention, based on years of research and experience, place Sojourn Partners at the forefront in executive leadership coaching, organizational development, strategic planning and culture and climate change.

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