Respond to messages on WhatsApp, check emails, answer calls, participate in meetings and still deliver strategic tasks. For many professionals, this is the reality of every day. The problem is that, despite the intense rhythm, the actual productivity does not seem to keep up with the volume of effort
“We live in a state of constant distraction. Technology brought speed, but also a brutal competition for our attention“, affirms Virgilio Marques dos Santos, co-founder of FM2S Education and Consulting, specialist in career management and PhD from Unicamp
According to him, the feeling of exhaustion at the end of the shift, even without major deliveries, it is a clear symptom of the impact of frequent work interruptions. Cada vez que somos interrompidos, our brain needs to make an extra effort to resume reasoning. This cycle of breaking and resuming consumes cognitive energy and impairs decision-making, explain
This effect is not new. Estudos clássicos sobre sobrecarga informacional, como publicado em 2007 por Cheri Speier, Joseph Valacich and Iris Vessey,inCiencias de la decisión, they already demonstrated that frequent distractions reduce mental clarity and increase the incidence of errors. The difference is that, with the current hyperconnectivity, the situation has worsened — and the cost also began to be measured in mental health
The impact of distractions on daily corporate life
In the workplace, distractions are often normalised. Successive meetings, instant messaging, notifiche costanti e interruzioni “rapide” dei colleghi si accumulano e creano un rumore che sabotano la concentrazione. “When this becomes routine, decisões importantes passam a ser tomadas com base em informações incompletas ou sem o devido raciocínio. And this can directly affect the results of a project or an entire area“, affirms Santos
He remembers that the multitasking professional, previously celebrated, today is viewed with more caution. Being productive is not doing many things at the same time, but being able to progress in the tasks that really matter, with depth and mindfulness.”
Four strategies to protect focus and improve performance
In light of this scenario, Santos lists four simple practices that can help reduce the impacts of interruptions and increase work effectiveness
1. Focused time blocksreserve periods of the day for strategic tasks, with notifications turned off and minimized interruptions. Inform the team about this routine to align expectations
2. Priority managementutilize ferramentas como a Matriz de Eisenhower que divide as tarefas em quatro categorias urgentes e importantes, importantes pero no urgentes, urgent but not important, nem urgentes nem importantes para diferenciar o que é urgente do que é importante. Thus, avoid the risk of wasting energy on low-impact demands
3. Schedules for communicationconcentre a verificação de mensagens e e-mails em momentos específicos do dia. This reduces the anxiety of always being available and improves time management
4. Culture of respect for timeIncentive no time uma comunicação clara e planejada. Many questions can be resolved in pre-scheduled meetings or through more direct message exchanges
Restoring focus is more than a matter of efficiency. It is a way to take care of our mental health and the quality of the decisions we make every day, concluded the expert
