Why It's So Hard to Focus at Work

For many corporations, task switching has become a requirement of the job.

• One study points out that time spent on collaborative activities has increased by 50% over the past two decades.
• Open office floor plans are still common, but the interruptions make it difficult for teams to get work done.
• One survey shows that workers spend an average of six hours on email a day.
• Meetings still take up 15% of companies' time.
• Slack found that people spent an average of 10 hours a day in the app.

Collaboration and communication are essential in the workspace, as well as social connections. But a balance is required between focused productivity and connectedness.

Meetings, email, real-time chat are all habits. And habits can be changed. Changing one keystone habit can start a chain reaction in how a team approaches everything about their work.

• Set a maximum time your team spends in meetings. It can help your team rethink which meetings are necessary.
• Have your team mark off time for deep work on their calendars. Hold that time sacred.
• Have the team list the one important task they want to complete each day.
• Limit email/group chat before a specific time in the morning
• Make asynchronous communication the default. Delayed responses should be the preferred way of communication. It will enable your team to focus on their deep work.