Five panda pointers: How to encourage a distraction free workplace

There is nothing wrong with getting along with your colleagues. The pandas encourage that! But have you ever felt distracted in your workplace and felt it’s harming your output? It might be a chatty team member or you are having a day where motivation is low. If so, have you discussed this with the team? Here are our top five ways to encourage a distraction free workplace…

1) The ‘in the zone’ challenge

Get your head down, lay out your important tasks and start getting them done…that is called being in the zone!  Productivity goes through the roof when you have short yet sweet bursts of concentrated work. But would it always be easy to stick to?

Introducing the ‘in the zone ‘challenge! Have everyone agree on a set period of time the ‘in the zone’ hours take place, get a forfeit jar in place and commence. You should have previously decided on some exceptions to the rules, where really important matters mean you can talk to one of your colleagues. If this isn’t the case and someone breaks the no distraction rule, the forfeit jar will be awaiting when the ‘in the zone’ hours are over!

2) Vision, focus & control

Why not have a quick group session where you share one individual goal for the months ahead. If a team are aware of each other’s goal they can encourage each other to focus when distractions take hold.

Having that vision and focus can help you control the distractions, while knowing a colleague’s goals can drive you to help them too!

3) Meditation, movement & mindfulness aka. MMM

This great tip comes courtesy of Meredith of Food at Heart, who taught the pandas this very technique at her cre-ATE workshop.

It’s a simple technique that opens your creativity and allows you to power on through distractions with great ideas fuelling your output. All you need to do is have a few moments reflection time before having a short walk around the area. Taking yourself away from your work bubble briefly will make you mindful of what needs doing meaning you can return with a clear mind and a creative edge. Thanks for the tip Meredith!

4) Honesty is the best policy

Don’t be afraid to tell a colleague that you are busy with something if they approach you. Reassure them that you will catch up with them at a more convenient time.

Leaving a task to talk about something unrelated to it will take you out of the mind set you had built up to tackle it. Chances are your colleague has been in the position where they were too busy for distractions so they will understand. It won’t make things awkward; it will make things more harmonious in the long term.

5) Flag up your distraction free time

Similar to ‘in the zone’ hours, except they are individual to you. Have everyone pick a mascot that represents their distraction free time. When that is displaying, your colleagues know not to disturb you and vice versa!

So there you have it…our five panda pointers for a harmonious, distraction free workplace!