I love technology. I love playing around with my iPhone, browsing around on the latest social media websites. But as much as I love it, I find myself having big problems with it sometimes. The same technology that gives me work (and something to write about in this very blog) can also become a major obsticle. Being a web designer, I’m required to be online all day long. And that also means I have to be extra careful not to get sidetracked.

This article will focus on stuff that’s probably very obvious to some of you, and it isn’t groundbreaking stuff. However, sometimes we all need to be reminded even of the most plain things. No matter how great of a web designer you are, if you can’t focus then you’re not gonna do much good, are you?

Social media sites

Two of my favorite online services are Facebook and Twitter. I admit that I probably stay logged in more or less throughout the whole day. And while it can be difficult noticing when it becomes a problem and hinders your work – do the first step and just don’t log in! Close the tabs containg the program. Reconnect later when you have the time to spare.

I am of the opinion that there is nothing wrong with a little social networking every once in a while, especially since it can actually leads to establishing new contacts. But it is equally important to know when you have to focus and concentrate on your current project.

Don’t forget the third-party applications!

I personally love TweetDeck – it’s an awesome way of interacting on Twitter. But no matter what program you choose to use – close it down! And I mean it entirally – sometimes minimizing it just don’t cut it.

Most programs make use of different notifications when stuff happens and this can clearly be a distraction. But even if you just turn off the notification system, the icon clearly begs to be clicked on! Just one more time… (Or is that just me?)

So – close it! Close it down!

Your own personal browser war

This depends on what exactly you’re working with. But let’s say you’re designing in Photoshop. Why do you even need to have your browser open at all? Close it down! (Heard that before?)

However, if you’re working with the programming aspect of a project then you clearly need to have it open. But when you do – don’t have any more open tabs than you need to. Just like in the TweetDeck case, it’s all too easy to bring back that Facebook tab to check “just one more time”…

You can also hide both your bookmarks and even the address bar! You can’t type facebook.com into a non-existant address bar, now can you? Only open up tabs that are relevant to your project and then hide it. It’s amazing what difference such a simple, yet drastic change can make to your workflow.

Also, a little tip. Use Ctrl+R (Command+R on OS X) to reload the page.

Your inbox

Most people (including me) keep their mail boxes open all the time. It serves as a referencing point – at any time I can look through my conversation with the client to see what exactly has been decided. I never print anything and I hardly ever take notes by hand, so I have it all on my computer.

My advice here really depends on your situation and your role in the company. If you know that your boss wants you to totally focus on your project at hand then this is what you can do: increase the amount of time between automated email checks. Whenever a box pops up on your screen, telling you that you have a new mail, it’s very tempting to click it. Just avoid that problem altogether.

However, I do realize that this isn’t feasible for everyone. For example, I could never do that – something really urgent might come up and I have to drop everything I do to check up on it. My job includes being available if the situation calls for it.

How to handle phone calls

For some people, phone can be a BIG distraction, especially for us obsessive people (my iPhone is more important to me than putting on my socks!). However, there’s one really important thing that can be done to overcome this – schedule all important phone meetings.

Do you know why this is such a huge deal? It’s because it’s a lot easier fitting in your work and making more out of the time you have if you know exactly how much time you have on your hands before the next phone meeting is about to take place. Think about it – the most distracting things are those that you don’t expect.

There’s also another simple solution – just turn off the signal and let the voice mail take care of it. That way, you can decide for yourself when to deal with an unexpected situation that might arise.

Smartphones – not always that smart

While on the subject of phones – let’s talk a bit about smartphones! Since you’re working with the web, chances are you probably have one of those smartphones. I have an iPhone myself, and I am very happy with it. However, the fact that you can do so much with it can also prove to be a distraction while working. What’s the point of post-poning automatic email checks if your phone is gonna tell you all about it anyway?

You can turn it off entirely, but it might also suffice to just put it to silent mode and NOT keep it visible. It’s so easy to fall into the trap of checking “just one more thing”. Don’t do that!

Instant messaging – instant annoyance

No matter what service you use as your instant messaging tool – it can also be a BIG distraction when your friends or co-workers constantly tries to strike up conversations with you in the middle of a project.

While setting your status as “Busy” might suffice in some situations, I would say that the very best thing is to turn it off entirely. Not everyone will respect your status.

Final words

This is only a handful of (obvious) tips to utilize if you’re feeling to distracted. Some of ‘em might be hard to implement though.

What do you do to stay focused?