How can we focus more on work?
Today I got a message from my best friend who is studying in Europe via WhatsApp. In the message, he told how individual people in his group work. In international research, usually a research group consists of people from various countries.
For example, he tells about how when his friend Chris from Iraq’s working hours intersect work by opening social media and arguing about Israel – Palestine, Brad who often opens sports channels while working, or Hiram from Puerto Rico who is always seen sleeping in the corner of the office. What about Indonesians? Predictably, during working hours you can be sure to open Facebook or YouTube, and also take the time to gossip with friends on the WhatsApp group . Maybe now add Pokemon Go, hehehe …
Unlike her friend Kathrina from Germany. Kathrina always came by at 8 am, then turned on her computer and started working. What is special is that the second he started working, his head seemed to be firmly imprinted on the monitor screen, rarely seen looking to the right and to the left. His whole attention was drawn to his job. He was focused and really devoted his hours to getting what he had to do that day.
At 12 Teng Kathrina went to the microwave, then warmed up her lunch. After lunch, he will work until 5 am, then go home.
Sometime later, when we were both attending a party, I realized that Kathrina was a “normal” human too. For him, working hours must work. Party time is party. It is a disgrace for him if he does non-working things during his working hours or vice versa; work when it’s time to party.
From the story, it is not surprising that Germany is a productive country, even though the working hours are low. On the other hand, in Indonesia, the work productivity is low even though the working hours are very high.
Getting the message, what went through my mind was, “yes, that’s in Germany. Different culture with Indonesia. ” In Germany, people can focus because each person there also focuses on their individual activities. Meanwhile in Indonesia, which is highly interactive and the culture of chivalry is high, productivity in Germany is almost difficult to do.
While I was working, there were so many challenges I had to face in order to stay focused. Starting from friends who meet then invite to vent, then colleagues who ask for help suddenly, and also if there are students who have problems and ask for consultation. If all I say “no”, then what is there is that I will be considered arrogant.
Okay, so what do you do so that we can work more focused and boost our work productivity? The following are ways we can do it,
Job Focus Tip 1 – Interpreting Work with Heart
One of the reasons we lose focus at work is when we feel bored and stuck in a routine. So that we will try to find an escape by doing other activities, one of which is opening social media or gossiping on WhatsApp.
In order for us to stay focused, the first thing we need to do is to seriously interpret every work we do.
The story of the three compilers of the bricks may provide some insight.
Once upon a time there were 3 bricklayers assigned to help with a school construction project in a village. The first stone composer had a gloomy face, the second compiler had a serious face, and the third compiler had a happy face.
When asked why, it turned out that the difference was in the way they interpreted the work.
The compilers of the first stone interpreted it as, “if only I didn’t need money anymore, I wouldn’t want to do this job.”
The second composer interpreted it as, “I have to do it carefully, who knows if I will be asked to work again in another place.”
The third stone composer interpreted it as, “I have to do my best, because this building will be used to produce leaders who will improve this nation.”
Which one is doing a really good job and is focused? The third brick compiler, of course. Even though his job is only compiling bricks, but with a very deep understanding, the job becomes very important to him.
Similar to us at work, our ability to interpret the work we do will determine what the focus of our work is like.
Work Focus Tip 2 – Make and Commit to a Work Schedule
An effective way for me to be more focused at work is to make a clear Work Schedule. For example, from Monday – Friday, what time until what time do I have to focus on work.
Suppose for most people it is 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. So make that schedule a commitment to just work. For freelancers, you can set work schedules more freely.
I usually set a work schedule from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. So at that hour I will be very busy doing research, writing, teaching, providing training, or creating certain works.
But, what if suddenly our colleagues ask for help or invite us to hang out and make us leave our jobs? Here we are the ones who can judge when to leave work and not.
If the invitation can be rescheduled, then make a schedule after work hours or catch up with our friends after work hours. If you can’t reschedule, make sure you’ve done all the most important things for the day. Relationship and Work Result are two things that are equally important in Indonesia. So balance the two.
Work Focus Tip 3 – Prepare the Headset
Having a headset is an effort to tell our colleagues that, “Wow, I can’t be bothered anymore. Later, when it’s finished. ” Setting up this headset is one of the best advice when we work in an open space where many people are mixed in one room.
So there is nothing wrong if you try to invest a little buying a headset.
Work Focus Tip 4 – Finding a Conducive Place to Work
There are people who like to work in a crowd, but not a few people who can work in a calm and quiet situation. The problem is that many people find workplaces that are the opposite of the comfort of how they work.
There are people who like to be in a crowd but their workplace gets their own space and ends up lonely and low in productivity. There are also people who like to work in quiet places but instead work in open spaces where they always meet other people.
If the thing you get is like this, then look for a place that is truly conducive. Previously, I had a workspace in the form of an open space, where one room contained 6 people and was very talkative. I was confused because my work was so difficult to finish.
Finally, I looked for and found a spot in the office that could be used for fun work. One of them was even in the library (which made me have to leave the building). But for work productivity, I think it’s okay.
Tips Job Focus 5 – Provide Sample Working Culture Kita
Everyone has their own work culture. My friend has a work culture where going to the office is to build relationships with colleagues and superiors, while other work is done at home. There are also people whose work culture doesn’t want to bring assignments home, so everything is done at the office.
I’m one of those people who don’t want to take office work home. So, I showed my colleagues that I am very focused when working in the office. I use a headset, I always switch from one job to another that is not finished. So that people who know my work culture become automatically reluctant to greet me. Much like the Kathrina story above.
So, if you want to focus more on work try to create your work culture, give an example to your work colleagues, then they will understand when is the right time to ‘disturb’ you.
Those are 5 tips you can do to make your work more focused. I’ve also written several times about how to boost productivity. The following are some posts that I recommend reading as well:
