There are certain times when you cannot work at the office, outdoors or at home no matter how hard you try. Distracting situations appear, which determine you in a strange yet familiar way to concentrate on them and leave aside whatever you were working on already…

Whether you work in a call center, recruitment center in a multinational or even a small company with open offices, sometimes it seems to you that despite working 8 hours a day or even more you still don’t fully accomplish your goals. Certain activities that you should normally perform in 30-40 minutes, are only finished after 80-90 minutes because, for example, there are unexpected requests from co-workers which, many times, you tend to start working on immediately. What can you do? How can you concentrate when other people talk on the phone while you work? How can you change for the better all the contingencies that arise? Let’s see together!

The 7 ways that can help you daily:

1. Let your co-workers know that, for example, during week X you will be unable to help with any major requests because you have to compile ​​45 commercial offers for 45 prospects (potential customers). You can do this by e-mail or tell them personally. It would be better, however, by e-mail, because thus your message will be read carefully and if someone says they were unaware of or forgot about your emergencies, you can show them the proof … said email.

Imagine that if you don’t, you’ll just waste time merely because you’ll have to explain each person in part, why you cannot help them. Take the initiative and let them know about the emergencies that you have to solve.

2. During a regular meeting you can let your co-workers know that you may not be able to solve their requests immediately because of various ongoing activities, but you’ll write down each individual request so as to have a structure that you can follow. Your co-workers will appreciate this and you will avoid any prejudiced or biased opinions – at least for a while.

3. Use interactive tools – messages like Out of Office or Do Not Disturb (especially on the cell phone) are statuses which show your contacts that you are unavailable but you’ll return soon (tomorrow, two weeks, etc.). If you do not know how to set these statuses, try to approach co-workers who can help, maybe IT and Communications department.

4. Organize your responsibilities for each separate day. In the morning, when you get to the office, the first important thing is to write down the activities you need to perform that day or the goals you need to achieve. You will see that even if you are interrupted by your other co-workers, you can always look at those activities that you wrote in the morning when you were in shape and had considerable stamina. You’ll see that by regularly checking on your activities (every 90 minutes for example), you will remember what to do.

5. If you think that a certain task will take, for example, 30 minutes to perform add an extra 10 minutes – there are almost always unexpected situations that can delay your schedule. So, think ahead!

6. Try to combine fieldwork with office work. Even if you work a lot in the office and don’t get much fieldwork, that does not mean you cannot walk for at least 15-20 minutes a day, around the office, for example. Such a method, besides the fact that it takes you out of the office and gives you a break from your routine, also makes you unavailable. Sometimes in life, especially life in the office, it is worth it to be unavailable occasionally or at least a few minutes a day – it helps you be more efficient, healthier, calmer.

7. Learn to say No! Examples: I can’t help you now, I’ll get back to you later; I cannot be of help, but we can talk tomorrow if you wish.

There is no need to be a Yes Man 24 hours a day. Even if you want to help, you can assign a specific time for it, not the whole day.

As long as you set a schedule and try to follow it, you’ll be able to improve your job performance, even if at first it won’t be so easy.

Mihai Silviu Botezatu, Staffing Manager HRS