Productivity Boost: Do Not Disturb Mode

Productivity is everything when you are running a business. Undeniably, to boost productivity includes focus and concentration. You would want to be in ‘Do Not Disturb Mode.’ However, as subtle as it is, there are little things that snatch our attention. I am talking about the noises in your life – the notifications.

Why on earth are you getting notifications?

Maybe you think that getting notifications is not really a big deal. And maybe you think that it is somehow convenient to be updated every hour of the day. But again, we are talking about productivity and a simple buzz or flash can distract you and keep you from being really productive.

Sometimes, you are so used to notifications that even there’s none; you mindlessly grab your phone from your pocket and check on it. And worse, it would lead you to tapping on an application, let’s say Facebook, and late would you know that you already spent 20 minutes scrolling through your feed. Sounds familiar?
You will be surprised how many times you check your phone or how much time you spend with it even it’s completely unnecessary. You can try apps like Checky or Moment to track your phone usage. Awareness can lead to change!

But communication is vital in business!!! Or is it?

There are various methods of communication and there are various messages that need to get through. And if you look at Eisenhower Decision Matrix , you’ll get the idea of things that need to be done to improve productivity. You’ve got the things that are important and urgent, you’ve got things that are not important and not urgent and you’ve got those in between.

“What is important is seldom urgent and what is urgent is seldom important.” — Dwight D. Eisenhower

The Eisenhower Box is a very simple yet effective categorization of tasks. Using the illustration, you can easily recognize which tasks must be prioritized.

1. Important and Urgent
   Done immediately and personally
   e.g. crises, deadlines, and problem

2. Important but not Urgent
   Scheduled and done personally
   e.g. relationships, planning, recreation

3. Urgent, but not important
   Delegated to someone else
   e.g. interruptions, meetings, activities

4. Not important nor urgent
   To eliminate
   e.g. time wasters, pleasant activities, trivia

Priority 1: Important and Urgent

Since Priority 1 is the most important among other priorities, you wouldn’t want any distractions. The aim is to get it done first so it is best to dedicate your first hours of your day in completing these tasks.
The lesser important and urgent tasks you have, the more you can focus and be more productive with Priority 2.

Priority 2: Important but not Urgent  

The goal is to lessen Priority 1 by scheduling important but not urgent tasks and committing to its schedule. To determine what these tasks are, just answer the question: What are the things that only you can do?
Just because it’s not urgent, you won’t do it immediately and rather do it later or someday. Do not just organize and pile up tasks, finish them.

Priority 3: Urgent but not important

With Priority 3, answer the question: Who can do it for you? Delegate as much as possible; you can use Asana to easily and effectively delegate tasks to your team.
It is not about being lazy or something but it is for you to be productive as much as you can be on the things that are really important.

Priority 4: Not urgent and not important

Eliminate, or at least minimize tasks that neither urgent nor important.  When Priority 1 – 3 are all settled, that’s the only time you can even think about Priority 4. This includes watching tv, playing games, surfing the web or scrolling through social media.

 Live a Do-not-Disturb Life

The only thing that needs notification is Priority 1, tasks that are both important and urgent. You don’t really want to be alerted by something that’s not important or not urgent in your life that needs attention. And in fact, not important and not urgent things shouldn’t even be in your list or even thought about at all. So, how can you exactly live a Do-not-disturb life following the Eisenhower Box?

1. Identify your key contacts at your clinic, your other businesses, and your family. They should be the only people who can ring and get to you.

2. Define communication rule in your team making sure that they know that email was for things that could wait and that something Slack or SMS might be more important, urgent, and conversational.

3. Turn off all notifications, close down all the tabs in your browser that you don’t need (e.g. emai, facebook), no phone calls, no pop-ups, no buzzers, no flashes, and no sounds, nothing at all other than your key contacts. The world exists without you.

4. Dedicate a specific time of your day to clear out your inbox or email to zero. Anything that is 2-minute job, do it right there and then and then if it takes longer than two minutes, schedule it at another time. This goes for other notifications as well.

Conclusion

To look essentially the bigger picture, it’s about whether you’re in control of your life or someone else is in control and if you’re a slave to a little black device in your pocket.
But you have the power to change it and grab the wheel. There are no excuses for you not to get to live by your own terms.
If you enjoyed reading this article, don’t forget to share it and leave comments. It means a lot to us. You can also listen to our podcast episode. If you think you need further coaching in improving productivity, check out our Business Academy.
Remember to live with passion and do not let your life be governed by notifications!