Driven to distraction in your workplace? Try the The Isolator! A full-face helmet made from solid wood, this cuts out 95 per cent of noise. A small piece of glass painted black with a thin segment scraped clear allows you to see only the screen in front of you.
Okay, so maybe Hugo from the 1920s is going a bit far – the inventor had to add an oxygen tank when wearers became sleepy inside carbon-dioxide-filled helmet!
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Thankfully, there are easier and safer ways to avoid being distracted as an administrator.
First of all, let’s face facts: noise annoys.
Colleagues debating Game of Thrones without spoiler alerts, random telephones ringing, the sound of Gary chewing his morning muesli . . . these can all add up to an almighty headache.
So, soundproof your workplace. If necessary, rearrange the office so you can work without people constantly passing your desk and saying hello or finding yourself stuck next to a noisy printer.
Noise-cancelling headphones will prevent an accidental muesli meets Gary’s lap incident but also allows you to hear incoming calls.
Headphones are also a warning sign to approaching co-workers that say: “Not now, I’m busy!”
Being a secretary, PA or admin assistant means multi-tasking. At any one time there can be a dozen tasks demanding your attention – just as you finally begin transcribing your meeting notes, Gary wants an expenses form for dry cleaning.
The best way to beat the bedlam is to break down your tasks in order of time sensitivity and importance.
Rather than being pulled every which way this will allow you to methodically go through the list and finish each task. Gary’s dry cleaning may have to wait.
The same rule applies to handling emails.
Most workers are distracted by constantly checking incoming messages. As soon as a new email lands, it must be looked at . . . destroying your focus.
Why not turn off your notifications to give yourself respite from the electronic avalanche. Instead, you can set allotted times to check and respond to messages.
And for those email exchanges that become longer and more tedious than Brexit, pick up the phone and cut to the chase. It not only gets the job done, but frees up your time to get on with more important matters. No, still not Gary’s dry cleaning.
You can also use unavoidable downtime – such as the homeward commute – to catch up on emails you may have missed.
Also think of your computer screen as a blank canvas to be filled with only one task at a time. Hide all other apps that might demand your attention.
If you’re working on a report this might mean having the full screen filled with a single word document.
It’s one more way to declutter your workspace, remove distractions and get on with the job.
Finally, don’t be distracted by career dead ends. Go straight to s1jobs for the best new positions in Admin/Secretarial/PA.