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Can a Sound Machine Help You Enjoy Your Job More?

April 8, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Do you feel like you work in Office Space?

Do you clock in and out every day with a sense of purposelessness that is maddening?  Do you find that you are overly fond of a stapler or frightening angry with office machinery frequently?  Do you fill out the same reports over and over again?  Do you know the sales’ guys lines verbatim, or how Nina answers the accounting line down to the right inflection?

If so, you might be in for a mid-life crisis, regardless of your age.  Your job is your job- there’s not a lot anyone can do to improve that outside of the office.  But it is important to re-engage and find a way to work through the frustration and noise that have become a virtual soundtrack of your day.

Blocking Distraction with a Sound Machine

Facebook isn't the only time suck at work.

One way to do that is to use a sound machine at your desk.  It may seem like a silly solution to work stress and irritations, but many of your issues may revolve around background noise and distraction.  Even if you love your job and every co-worker you have ever encountered, you still do not need to be privy to their every conversation.  Now, if you aren’t loving your job or have co-workers that you’re less than enamored with, using a sound machine will help you tune out those inane comments that weren’t meant for you anyway.

It’s kind of like when  you need to get work done, but you’r not feeling motivated, so you mess around on Facebook for a while, then you see who’s tweeting what, then you check out who the Bachelor chose, even though you really don’t care….all the while knowing you are losing valuable time but you feel powerless to stop it.  Office distractions suck you in much the same way.  However, you are not powerless to stop them.  Take charge of distraction by using a sound machine.

It’s time to reclaim your work day with a sound machine so you can feel better about your job and the work you can now get done.

 

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Staying Focused at Work with a Sound Machine

January 19, 2011 By 2 Comments

Staying Focused at Work

Does your mind wander at work?  If you said no, you’re a liar.  Chances are, it’s wandering right now….and probably at work.  That’s why you’re messing around on the internet.  Well, at least it’s out there now.  Admitting it is the first step, right?

The good news is you’re not the only one.  The bad news is you’re not the only one.  Most people fritter away more than 2 hours every day as a result of distraction.  In fact, The Invention of Lying picked up on this fact with a funny newspaper clipping:

Workplace productivity in the work place down 14%…everyone thinking about mansions.

Even though it was a small snippet of the movie, the point was still made- distracted workers are not as productive as focused ones.  They are disengaged, thinking about other things, listening to water cooler gossip, taking part in discussions, bets, and stories being passes around.  Even when they want to be focused, they are held prey by other people’s noise, including all their gadgets and their exotic ring tones….oh, well, yes, they’re held prey by their own gadgetry as well. Who doesn’t drop what they’re doing when a text beeps in or your cell phone rings?

Pretty simple, yet a difficult problem.  You can’t exactly tell people, “Stop being distracted….And quit answering your phone.”  If only it were that easy.  However, there is an easy solution: sound machines.  By using a little white noise and even nature sounds you can tune out a lot of superfluous noise and distraction.  And, interestingly enough, the extra noise you’re adding with your little machine is just enough to help cover the unwanted sounds without proving to be a distraction itself.  The result is that you can actually focus on work and not on mansions (…or movies about them).

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Use a Sound Machine to Reduce Distractions at Work

January 14, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Do you find yourself constantly distracted at work? Are you frustrated by how long it takes to do tasks because you just keep getting  interrupted?  Have you talked to your boss about it, but not gotten much, if any, help?

If this is the situation you find yourself in, I would encourage you to try using a white noise machine at your desk. Unlike music, it doesn’t divert your attention at all from what you are supposed to be concentrating on. What it does is drown out background noise so that you can focus on what you are doing, instead of trying to concentrate through the office drama of “what Jimmy said to Sally after this crazy thing happened.” Even better, studies show that it can help you focus better and feel less stressed. Studies have found that offices that utilized white noise showed an average of 48% improvement in their ability to focus on tasks, a 51% improvement in elimination of distractions (especially overheard conversations), and a 27% improvement in lowered stress levels.

A small portable option for a white noise machine is the Sound Oasis Travel White Noise Therapy System. I like to think of this as the Mighty Mouse of the sound machines. It is tiny in stature, but can beat up all the big distractions keeping you from doing what you are supposed to be doing–working. Even better, since its portable, you can take it home with you to help you get better sleep at night.

If you don’t want a portable option, the Sound Oasis Deluxe Office White Noise System is a nice option. Its not as small as the travel sound machine, but it does have a lot more features, including 20 main sounds & 5 mix sounds create 120 sound environment possibilities.

If you aren’t convinced and would just like to try it out, you could try a free online white noise generator. Just keep it open in a background browser window and you’ll be well on your way to working–without as much distraction and stress.

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Are You Distracted at Work?

October 8, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Distracted

It's a bad sign when you get distracted from the distraction itself.

Did you know that Joe Worker is distracted more than 2 hours every day?  Of course you did, that’s why you’re reading this.  You’re either looking for ways to avoid distraction or, worse, you’re in the midst of being distracted by the internet.  Either way, it’s nice to know you’re not alone.  Seriously- every worker is distracted at various points throughout the day and the cost of that distraction is actually more than 2 hours.  Think about distractions themselves.

  • Example 1: You’re busily working when a friend IM’s you or Facebooks you or you notice you have 12 new emails or a favorite blog just went live, etc.  You switch over to tend to these more exciting pursuits and not only do you lose time doing it, you also take half and hour to get back on track work-wise as you ponder the contents of said interchange.
  • Example 2: Through no fault of your own, you find yourself drawn into a heated exchange between 2 co-workers.  Whether you’re unintentionally eavesdropping or are actually pulled into the fray, it’s a challenging task indeed to keep working even when the conflict ceases.

As you can see, those minutes of distraction add up quickly.

How to Minimize Distractions at Work

The important thing to try to figure out which distractions are part of working and which ones can be eliminated, or at least reduced.  For instance, using your computer is usually part and parcel to working in a modern office.  However, you can take control of how you use it.

  • If personal emails distract you, try only checking on breaks and shutting it down, rather than minimizing it.  That way you wont be tempted to constantly check it.
  • If co-worker issues are exactly that- issues- try to book a conference room every now and then to get a change of scenery.
  • You can’t always escape from your desk, so you might want to try a sound machine.  For a taste of what white noise is and what it can do to help block out irritating distractions, take a look at this free online generator.

Those are just a few ideas for minimizing distractions at work.  Based on your specific work set-up, you’ll be able to determine which might benefit you.

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If You Don’t Ask, The Answer is Always No

August 13, 2010 By Leave a Comment

As I was perusing one of the blogs I read, I came across a link to a very helpful article.  This gentleman has adopted as one of his mottos the phrase, “if you don’t ask, the answer is always no.”  I have heard this before, but this time it really made me start thinking. I am always so hesitant to ask people things because I don’t want to inconvenience them or I don’t want anything to be awkward–even if I don’t know the person I am asking and will most likely never see them again.

I also started thinking about how this might relate to you. How could you use this to help yourself be less distracted by your coworkers and more able to focus? I thought of a few ways.

  • Tell your boss you are having difficulty concentrating due to all the conversational distraction and ask for help in this area. You could mention how beneficial sound masking has been in other places. Perhaps your boss didn’t even realize how big of a problem it is.
  • Nicely ask your coworkers to please not disturb you. This could be done in person or with a sign on your cubicle or on the front of your desk. A funny sign can get the point across without being offensive. (Passive-aggressiveness pays off sometimes!) Perhaps your coworkers don’t know that their constant chatter is really bothering you.
  • Are there other things keeping your from being able to concentrate besides your noisy coworkers? Sometimes changing the way your desk is set up so that it is more ergonomically correct can help to get rid of all those aches you get from sitting in front of a computer all day. Its hard to concentrate when your shoulders are killing you. You might want to ask your boss for a better chair or a different keyboard to help with this.

So, what is keeping you from a less stressful and more productive day? It might be just a simple question to the right person.

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Work Distractions Cause IQ Loss

May 19, 2010 By 2 Comments

Would you like to lose 10 IQ points?

Would anyone really?  According to  a 2005 study,  distractions at work are equivalent to a 10 point IQ loss.  Yikes.  In addition to that staggering loss, you might be surprised by the rest of the findings:

  • 1 in 5 workers will interrupt a business or social engagement to respond to a message.
  • 9 out of 10 people thought colleagues who answered messages during face-to-face meetings were rude.  Interestingly, 3 out of 10 believed it was not only acceptable, but a sign of diligence and efficiency.

What fascinating findings- 20% of workers interrupt business meetings.  90% of workers think that is rude.  30% of workers think these interruptions are not only not rude, but good business tactics.

More on IQ loss

Dr. Glenn Wilson of King’s College London University monitored the IQ of workers throughout a work day for 80 clinical trials.  Dr. Wilson found that a 10 point IQ loss resulted for those workers who were distracted.  This is equivalent to missing an entire night of sleep and more than double the IQ loss of 4 points from smoking marijuana.

Um, does this bother anyone else?

Possible Solutions

  • Never, ever smoke marijuana.  This should never be in question.  Moving on.
  • Get good sleep- this may counteract some of the losses.
  • Prioritize actual work and work-related meetings over gabbing and answering messages of any sort.  Very few messages take precedent over work-related tasks or face-to-face meetings.
  • If all else fails, try white noise, like this free white noise generator.  Nothing like tuning it out.

Good luck and may your IQ never fall!

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Casual Friday: How NOT to be Distracting

March 26, 2010 By Leave a Comment

A lot of offices have casual Friday when you can kind of ‘let loose’ with your wardrobe and wear more casual clothes to work. This is all fine and good, except when your coworkers take the idea of casual Friday a little too far. We all know you’d never do that, but just to make sure, we’d thought we’d give you some tips to still look professional and casual, but not distracting. Because even though we here at Noisy Coworkers love us some white noise, it can only help so much with certain distractions.

Tips for Casual Friday

1. Wear clothes that fit. This seems obvious, but it  is not always a given.

Wow! I think this woman violated every rule but number 5. What do you bet she is wearing white tennis shoes?

If you have flesh bulging out anywhere, it is safe to say that you should probably just put that back in the closet (or the trash can). For good. If it looks like you painted the clothing on or have to really squeeze yourself into, again, please put that back in the closet.

2. Don’t wear clothing that is too revealing. Nothing too low. Nothing too short. If you would wear it to a night club, then please don’t wear that to work.  Another good rule of thumb is that if you have to keep adjusting your clothing, it might not be a good fit (pun  intended).

3. Don’t wear clothing with holes in it. I know the fashions come and go about whether having holes in your jeans is cool or not, but at the office, it just looks like you didn’t care enough to change into some decent clothes. If there are holes in the article of clothing, or if you have ever worn said clothing to do yard work in, then these items are also a no no at the office.

I know these are supposed to be fashionable, but this is definitely not professional.

4. Please try to match. My husband once had a professor whom we wondered if he didn’t close his eyes every morning, reach into his closet and pull things out and then put them on in the dark and never look at this outfit again. Seriously, they were hideous.   Don’t mix patterns. Black and brown do NOT look good together. (I know some would argue, but I’m sticking with this one.) No day glow colors. Simple principles like that. (If you are in the fashion industry, please disregard everything I just said. You guys make up your own rules, it seems.)

5. No tennis shoes, especially white ones. There are lots of other nice looking and comfortable shoe options out there. It looks a lot more professional if you don’t have tennis shoes on. (Unless you work at a gym. And then I still don’t like white tennis shoes.  How hard is it to throw in some blue or, Lord forbid, yellow?)

6. If you would wear it to bed or to exercise in, then leave those in the gym bag or the laundry room. Definitely not work wear.

7. Just because you are dressed casually doesn’t mean you need to act too casually. Keep it professional, people.

I’m sure you could think of a lot more rules regarding this subject, but if you follow these, you’ll be well on your way to looking good. And for all your other coworkers who don’t read this? Feel free to print this out and post it somewhere highly visible. You’ll be glad you did.

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Annoying Coworkers

March 9, 2010 By Leave a Comment

I usually address the needs of the distracted worker in a cubicle.  I digress at times, but largely, I write for the rights of the interrupted  soul just trying to get his or her work done.

Today, however, I am writing to you, O Distractor.  Whether you are making inappropriate jokes, clicking your finger nails, tapping your heels, emitting bodily odors and sounds, overly rejoicing over a sale (it had to happen some time, right?), arguing too loudly with your other half via an office-traveling phone call, eating odiferous ethnic foods or just plain old tuna, this is for you.

And I’m not sorry.  You deserve it.  Maybe now you’ll work instead of irritating the rest of us.  Until that day, I will block you.

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Nothing to Listen to- is that good or bad?

February 22, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Reposted from Inc.com

Inc.com‘s take on working from home

If you’ve read this blog for long, you must have figured out that I work from home.  I recently found a funny post that I can relate to in many ways.  This is her lead-in to 8 Work-from-Home Tips:

Inc. Magazine lives in New York City. I live in the Boston suburbs. So for three years I’ve been working out of my home office with nothing to look at but the Ozark-esque compound across the road and nothing to listen to but squirrels striking the back porch when they miss the bird feeders. It gets lonely at times. My house lacks both a water cooler and peers to engage in conversation around one. I miss the random hallway conversations that unexpectedly ignite ideas or forge alliances. When I know my colleagues are staying late to close an issue, I work late too, out of solidarity. The managing editor offers to order in dinner and sends out a link to the menu. I mentally place my order.

Nothing to Listen to….?

I was interested in her description of lack of water cooler gossip and nothing to listen to as complaints.  She goes on to supply 8 tips that further intrigued me.  Instead of feeling relieved from the office distractions, this work-from-homer felt alone and isolated- in a too quiet place.  It’s hard to remember my home being too quiet, but I think it was before July 12, 2006 (the birth of our daughter).  And when I sit down to think about it, there are times that are too quiet- so quiet I can hardly think.  I start to look around at the specks on my carpet and the dust on my mantle instead of the work on my computer.  I’ve tried music, but it ends up distracting me at an even higher level.  Sometimes I can work with the TV on, but if it’s LOST, let’s be honest, I’m all in.  Too bad I don’t make money for the number of hours I have my computer open, right?

Besides setting aside time that is dedicated to work (not dishes, cleaning, diapers, or blog-reading), I also have to further protect my focus.  For me, it’s white noise (give this free white noise generator a shot if you’ve never tried one).  I love the consistency and gentle hum it brings as I stay glued to the page I’m working on instead of fluttering all over the place.  I love efficient work, so for more ideas for better focus while working from home, check out these tips- from me to you.  You’re welcome.  :)

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White noise for #2?

December 22, 2009 By Leave a Comment

I found these comments on this hilarious site:

I love when people around me (we don’t have cubicles either) listen to their conference calls on speakerphone because they would rather ruin my afternoon than hold the phone to their ear…

Count your blessings– we don’t even have cubicles. There is no conversation that goes un-heard, bodily functions are shared, and office slacking requires some very high-tech and creative solutions.

How about some kind of background noise in the bathroom as well. Is anyone else just a little bit uncomfortable when you’re enjoying a morning dump, someone else doing the same, and it is completely silent?

Awesome article. My employer has one of these white noise systems – I have one of the bee-hive looking things that broadcast over my cube. It’s barely noticeable, and you still hear conversations and stuff, but then one day it went out – holy crap does it make a difference! When it went out it was like that scene from Bruce Almighty where he starts hearing all the prayers in his head (anyone?)…White noise saves my sanity…

Cubicles are an invention of the devil. They should be soundproofed. I bet it would even be cost-effective: consider cost of sound=proofing vs. cost of lost productivity. No, I don’t want to hear the guy over there’s phone conversation, and I don’t want random coworkers to be able to hear me when I give a credit card number out on the phone when doing a business purchase. Or for that matter, when I’m talking to clients.

Okay, lazy conference calls and taking a dump made my eyes water.  If I weren’t already convinced of white noise and sound masking systems, I would be now.

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