Attraction to Distraction: Are you Avoiding Work by Doing Work?

By Craig Price

We’ve all been there, looking at the pile of work in our inbox or on our desks and wished it would go away. Instead of working on it (which is the only sure-fire way it will get off your desk short of setting it on fire) like we should, we find distractions. Sadly, this is a lot easier than we’d like. In fact, it is so easy we often set ourselves up with ways to be distracted, so we can avoid real work whenever the urge (or the lack of an urge) hits us.

We can do this because we rationalize that what we are doing is “work-related” and thus, in some tiny, unnecessary way, we are being productive. But are you avoiding the real work (i.e. difficult or time-consuming) with the peripheral work? It’s all work, but as we know, not all work is created equal.

Here are some common time-wasters…I mean, “work-related” tasks and what you should do if you find yourself doing them when you have more important things to do.

Telephones and E-mail: This is any form of communication really. Are you returning calls or responding to emails which could wait until later? Sure you need to keep up correspondence but isn’t that what email and voicemail are for? To delay and screen out the goofballs that you don’t want to actually talk to until YOU feel like it! How often have you answered the phone only to hear a befuddled voice go “Oh…uh…yeah…I wasn’t really ready to talk to you. I was just going to leave you message!” Basically they were calling for a reason but would rather babble into the empty void of a voicemail than interact with the likes of you! If an email was truly important, they’ll call. Email is not as instantaneous as people think. Sure it’s faster than the pony express but anything truly vital would be followed up with a call just to see if you got the message. Return the important calls and emails, but if it’s not life-threatening or career ending – it can wait.

Surfing the web: Here’s a habit I fall into when I am trying to avoid work (I was supposed to write this article 2 weeks ago!) The internet is like a whacked out time-machine.  Sure we think we’re on for only a few minutes, but the next thing you know, 4 hours have gone by and you really didn’t even do anything. Huh? What happened? I wanted to pay a bill online, but then I checked my FaceBook status, played Farmville, tweeted how I was bored at work on Twitter, watched morons harm themselves accidentally on YouTube  and yet…nothing really happened. It’s like you jumped 4 hours into the future…only you took the trip in real time! The best thing to do is avoid the internet at work or set up time limits. The reality of most workplaces is that the idiots goofing off caused the company to clamp down on the internet anyway. So the innocent people don’t get access either! Thanks…I’m definitely going to unfriend whoever caused THAT problem!

Interruptions: We’d like to think that interruptions are other people’s fault, but are you putting yourself in positions to be interrupted? Both literally and figuratively:

Long conversations: Are you working or just talking about working? Often a relevant work conversation evolves (or is intelligently designed, if you prefer) into idle chit chat. Do you allow every person with the ability to speak unlimited time to talk to you? Politely let them know that you have to get back to your work. Simply tell them you have a deadline (which is true, you just may not know what that time is) and need to get back to your desk.

Spider Trapping: This is when you set up your office/cubicle/work area to snag unsuspecting co-workers into conversation. You’re chair has you facing the door so every person who walks by becomes a victim of your web of chatter.  Do you constantly poke your head out of your cubicle looking for someone to lure into your talk trap?Do you search people out to talk to by using the guise of “work-related” subjects only to snare them into a long conversation (See above!)? Move your office around so you don’t see the door, then you aren’t tempted by any foot traffic that wanders by. What are you in the Mafia? You don’t want you’re back to the door because you’re afraid of an assassination attempt? What kind of place do you work?!

Personal disorganization: For some, people would rather tidy up the place than work. This way, if anyone looks over, you’re moving around, literally pushing papers, getting something accomplished. Or are you? It’s Form vs. Function – If you meet with clients or are on camera every day you need a neat desk, otherwise keep the desk how you can work the most effectively. If your desk smells from old sandwiches and half empty coffee cups, clean it up (it’s just common courtesy) but this is not the 1960’s FBI where you have to clean your desk off every night before you leave. Unless, of course, you work at the F.B.I., then do what they say.

Some work that we do is boring, tedious and annoying, but it is only a small portion of our entire job (at least I hope so!). It’s important we do the things that will be the most beneficial and create the most revenue. Spending your time on less important tasks makes you less productive overall.

So stop reading this and get back to work!