Banish Your Workday Distractions

“We’re all muddlers. The thing is to see when one’s got to stop muddling.” – Iris Murdoch (A Word Child, 1975)

We’ve talked about why you need to (a) do mostly, if not only, important tasks and (b) focus on doing them well.

We’ve examined the foolishness of multitasking and identified several common ways you can multitask yourself into a state of busy wastefulness.

I may even have mentioned — and if I didn’t, I should have — that you should get rid of any and all activities/events that make it hard for you to focus.

If you are doing any of the following (while working), promise yourself you will stop. And then stop. Immediately.

* listening to songs with lyrics

* listening to talk radio

* watching television

* making or receiving personal phone calls

* playing video games

* surfing the net

* lusting after office mates

What else? If you can think of any other counterproductive activities that we should all avoid, share them with us on Speak Out, the ETR discussion board (www.earlytorise.com).