Why You Need to Implement ‘Do Not Disturb’

We live in a busy world. There are distractions bombarding us every day whether it be from advertisements, social media, telephone calls, texts, or emails. We are on information overdrive 24/7 and while it might seem like this is keeping us on the forefront of productivity, it could potentially be doing the opposite.

I recently implemented the ‘Do Not Disturb’ practice in my daily activities. There is an app for that (haha), but all joking aside, it’s allowed me be to be more productive. The distraction of seeing an email pop up in the corner of my screen while I’m working on writing routines or something of the sort, was taking my focus out of the moment. By dedicating my time I am able to deeply focus on the task at hand and separate the noise from the production. I started turning off the noise by following three simple lifestyle changes.

Schedule the Day

I always follow a schedule but I’ve resorted to getting more detailed about how I schedule me day. When I rely on just having a list of things I need to get done in a day one of two things happen. I either plan too much and don’t have enough time in the day to accomplish them, or I bounce from one thing to another without focusing on completion of one task.

I don’t think I need to explain why bouncing from one task to another is a bad idea, but planning too much in a day is a major killer in my productivity world. When I’m not able to accomplish the unrealistic goals I set for myself it makes me feel like I’m not making any progress. When I don’t feel like I’m making progress I lose focus on accomplishing the task and move on to something else that gives me that sense of completion (which normally isn’t the thing I need to be working on).

I schedule each and every activity for the day and turn on my ‘Do Not Disturb’ function to keep me from deterring from my action. Only when the allotted time for the action I have set out to complete is up or until the task is complete do I reintroduce the notifications.

Allot Time for…

Messages, emails, and social media suck my time like no other. I could spend all day just playing on email and messages, and that’s exactly it playing. By not dedicating certain times of the day that I am allowed to check these communication sources I was detracting myself from my daily tasks that are driving new projects and growth.

I’ve schedules 2 fifteen minute sessions for each messaging type in each day. Yes, that’s only 1.5 hours for messaging and many would say that’s not enough, but for my day this is what I can sacrifice. You will need to judge based n your own needs what works for you, but this time allotment works for me. It forces me to be deliberate about what I do on each of these platforms are reduce anything that is forcing me to waste time.

Social Media and Emails

In social media, I use the time to comment on client’s progress or family updates. I also use it to reach out to new clients and post any fun new information I have. For my email, I’ve unsubscribed to anything that isn’t feeding into what my goals are. I focus on only consuming materials in email and social media that are going to make my life and your life better.

Messages

Messaging was for me the toughest of them all. We live in a world where we can contact each other and get an instant reply. We’ve come to expect it, but it’s unnecessary. If something is important, the caller will leave a message. If it’s an emergency, they’ll call back a second or third time. It’s ok not to respond instantaneously to every message you receive.

Let your family, loved ones, co-worker, and clients know the times you have set aside for phone calls and have them call at that time, otherwise, let them know you’ll call them back. You’ll be amazed at how ok they will be with your new dedication. It’s also helpful for them because they know what to expect.

At the end of the day I think we all want to know that we’ve made steady progress towards our goals and turning the noise off helps us do that. It’s good to remember that even with all the bustle we’re surrounded with every day we are in control of what we let in and how we let it effect our lives. Take charge and make use of your ‘Do Not Disturb’ practice.

xo,

isabelle