Workplace Disruptions and Interruptions: Types, Impacts and Prevention
- Adilla
- Nov 3
- 5 min read
Loud chattering, stomach gurgling, and notifications going off at the same time; your mind runs through different thoughts. You may not realise that those interruptions at work are affecting your focus and could burden you mentally.
For creatives, work distraction is like a prickly shirt tag at the back of your neck. It doesn’t really affect anything major, but this minor annoyance can become big and even affect your flow state as an artist.
Controlling these distractions at work might be difficult, but preventing them from affecting your work efficiency and productivity will help you in the long run.
Before dealing with them, you would have to identify which interruptions bother you the most, then work on them.
Table of Contents
Types of Work Interruptions: External and Internal
Work distractions or interruptions don’t just come from one thing. It could happen externally and internally from different types of sources.
External Interruptions
Notifications From Different Devices
This doesn’t only mean your laptop or phone. It could also be from the people in your office or your home who have their notifications set up loud.
Interactions In the Office
Whether it is towards you when interactions occur or with other people, some chattering can be too loud or too disruptive, especially in a place with echoey walls.
Environmental Noises
With echoey walls, ambient noises are likely to produce noise pollution. Moreover, if there are outside constructions that manage to pass through the walls of the office.
Internal Interruptions
Mental and Emotional States
If you have issues, whether emotional stress, anxieties, or running worries in your mind, this will disrupt your work performance. It may not be obvious if you’re the type to push through it all, but it will only cause mental burnout.
Body Signals
Other than your mental state, your physical state can be a disruptor, too. Either fatigue or a pang of hunger that can’t seem to be ignored.
Multitasking
If you’re a creative who has a habit of multitasking when doing your work, this could actually interrupt your work performance. You might think that multitasking is efficient, but it will cause you to burn out more.
How Distractions and Interruptions Impact Creativity
So, what happens when you keep getting disrupted as you do your work?
Cognitive Fatigue
This could happen when you become mentally drained from the constant interruptions, leading to more errors in your work and difficulty in staying concentrated. Hence, your creative flow would not go as smoothly as it usually would without constant work distractions.
Loss of Flow and Motivation
The state of deep work or flow state, is essential to keep consistent creative work going. When this is disrupted, you could lose motivation and find it hard to jump back into your ideas or work.
3 Ways to Prevent Interruptions and Distractions at Work
Change Your Work Routine
Before starting out on your work, have a routine that’ll help you stay locked in your work.
Set your phone to silent
Only open apps that are important for your work efficacy.
Prepare drinks and some healthy snacks that’ll help you stay awake and ward off the hunger pangs.
Take Advantage of Project Management Tools
Project management can help you stay on track and let your team know of your tasks’ status or workload for the day. Not only for yourself but for your team as well, so they can stay aligned with the project's progress.
Grab Noise-Cancelling Earphones or Ear Covers
For individuals with more sound sensitivity, managing their environment can be an impossible task. So, prepare things like noise-cancelling earphones or earplugs that could filter noise. You’ll find that there will be some focus improvement.
Recovering During and After a Distracting
Workday
When work is full of distractions, there are ways to recover and care for your mental health before it becomes a burden on your mind.
During a Workday
It can get overwhelming when both internal and external disruptors occupy your mind. Stepping away and changing your environment for a few minutes can help take a load off your mind.
It doesn’t have to be a walk outside. You can take some time to take a deep breath as you stand up for a moment at your desk or have something refreshing to clear the mind, like grapes or yoghurt with berries.
Post Workday
After a long day, take the time to organise your space before leaving to create a sense of order. If you are in the middle of something, write it down so you can revisit it when you come back to work the next day.
Additionally, writing down your to-do list as well can prevent your mind from lingering on the first thing in the morning.
Key Takeaways
Work distractions aren't a one-way fix and cannot be resolved immediately
However, building a routine to stay focused can prevent your attention from being pulled away.
The recovery from these interruptions can be important in easing the mental load when enduring them during your workday.
Find a community to better manage distractions or more ways to deal with them, such as our Creative Mental Health Community.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What are other ways to help me stay focused on my work?
Other ways to stay focused and not get disrupted at work are with methods like time blocking or the Pomodoro technique. Time management may seem like the least of your concerns, but a tool that reminds you to stay focused can help.
How do I regain focus after getting distracted?
To regain focus, you can start with something small to jumpstart your workflow.
What other tools can I use to help with my focus?
There are several tools that can help you stay focused, like the apps Forest and SelfControl. Each provides features that help you keep your attention away from your phone and any distracting apps.
Author Bio
With a background in Arts English, Adilla has been a casual writer for various hobbies, like parodies of animated shows and plots for board games. She loves to read anything and everything from fantasy stories to articles on tips and tricks. Now an advocate for mental health and effective project management for the creative industry. Currently, Adilla resides in Malaysia and is a creative writer at TESSR. To know more about her, check out her LinkedIn.
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