Why distractions aren’t necessarily a bad thing

June 5, 2010  

I’ve been a freelance web designer for over 5 years now and over that time I’ve read many blogs and articles aimed at freelancers that provide advice on productivity and smart working habits.  One of the common themes is the evilness of distractions; it seems that distractions should be avoided at all costs because of their negative impact on productivity so you should shut down your email client / Facebook / Twitter client or even turn off the Internet, schedule time for necessary chores like housework, make yourself sit at your desk for a fixed period of time or until you’ve completed a certain task, and the list goes on.

I’d like to offer an alternative view.

Perhaps it has something to do with the way my brain works but I find I work best when I’m not putting myself under pressure to avoid distractions, when I can quickly deal with something and get back to work, or when I can step away from my desk for a while for a physical and/or mental break.

Here are some ways in which distractions or breaks may actually aid your productivity:

• Pauses to take care of small errands, send quick email replies or pay bills give you a mental break and also change your eye focus
• Getting up from your chair to get the mail, stack the dishwasher, or change a lightbulb gives you a physical break from sitting on the chair but also gives you something menial that you can easily do while focussing your thoughts on your work.  Pulling away from what you’re doing and thinking of it from a different angle can be refreshing.  It can also remind you to eat and drink – something that can be overlooked when concentrating hard.
• Taking care of chores and errands throughout the day prevents a long list building for the end of the day, which you can begin to dread.  I find that I sometimes waste more time thinking about the little things I need to do, while trying to concentrate, than actually doing them – quickly getting them done frees up my mental burden
• If you are continually finding ways to be distracted and put off doing the work, perhaps this is something you need to think about – why are you avoiding it? What are you afraid of?
• Going out to have lunch or coffee with friends is not only a physical and mental break but it also breaks up the monotony and loneliness of working from home.  You would do this if you worked in an office, so what’s wrong with doing it when you work from home?

I no longer feel guilty when I succumb to distractions.  If I feel that I have had a productive day, and haven’t stressed out getting things done, then the distractions were worth it.  After all, if I wanted a slave driver, I wouldn’t be working for myself, right?