Distracted at Work
The average worker is distracted more than 2 hours every day. This is no surprise to you- you are a worker and you’re reading this….not exactly part of your work load, is it? I understand, I really do. I’m not being as productive as I could right now either. The sun is shining {which, as I’ve written before, is quite rare in Scotland}, which means I took a walk earlier with the kids…that walk took me by my husband’s graduate office. That office happens to sit up a few floors, but directly off the main street. As is my custom, I couldn’t help but yell up a quick “Hi!” This meant that besides my working husband, every other studying graduate got the distinct pleasure of hearing my voice out their windows.
The Cost of Interruptions
Sound machines can help you tune out what's around you.
This moment, the one in which I interrupted my husband and plenty of others, reminded me of how distracted we are at work, whether we want to be or not! Even my husband, who loves me and doesn’t mind the interruption, did in fact find himself interrupted. Interestingly, the average worker is also interrupted about 73 times a day. Besides the actual 70ish interruptions, workers also lose the time it takes to get back on track. For example, take my husband. There he was, working away, ready to finish his PhD, I am sure, until he heard my voice. He stopped what he was doing, stood up, walked over to the window, chatted for a minute, then went back to “work.” The funny thing is that he didn’t go right back to work. He probably thought about where we were going, when we’d be back by, and what I would make for lunch and/or dinner.
Sound Machines to Cover it All
This is not just my husband- most people struggle to get back on track once interrupted, and therefore distracted. That’s how those 2 hours add up. Plus, if you’re one of those workers who is just near by a distraction, it’s really frustrating to be held captive when you would like to be focused. This is where a good sound machine comes in to play- instead of popping up your head every time you hear something, cover the unnecessary distractions with white noise. I am confident my husband’s office mates would appreciate this kind of sound masking….I am just as confident that my husband should not get a sound machine- how tragic would it be to miss our hellos?
