Rising Above Workplace Noise

Controlling Noisy Distractions

Our workdays are filled with distractions and other people’s demands for our time. We find ourselves spending so much time and energy on the agendas of others, we struggle to work on our own.  Our truly important stuff gets pushed to the back burner.  It’s easy to lose focus.

Name It To Tame It

How do we regain it?  One way to find some focus is to recognize and label those distractions that take us off course.  For that I suggest a five-letter word.  Let’s call it “noise”.

Noise Defined

Here are three of Dictionary.com’s definitions for noise.

1. sound, especially of a loud, harsh, or confused kind:  deafening noises.
2. a sound of any kind: to hear a noise at the door. loud shouting, outcry, or clamor.
3. a non-harmonious or discordant group of sounds.

Do any of these describe something you’d like to have more of in your work day?  Our days are filled with distracting noise.  For executives, noise is a necessary evil.  Even when you retreat to your office and close the door, noise has a way of seeping in through electronic messages, phone calls and knocks on the door.

What’s an Executive to Do?

Is it really possible to stop all the noise?  That’s unlikely. Why aspire to an unattainable goal?

In sports, effective coaches have learned to set goals that are attainable.  They’ve learned that when their players stop believing, they’re less likely to perform to their potential.  So when they prepare to face an opposing athlete with superior talent, you will hear them say:

 

We can’t stop him. We can only hope to contain him.

The same is true for eliminating disruptive workplace noise.

 

You can’t stop workplace noise. You can only work to contain it.

How do you contain that noise?  What if you learned to filter your noise with this question…

“Whose Agenda is This Anyway?”

Upon noticing noise, ask this of yourself.  Does workplace noise ever effect your personal life?  Of course.  This same filter applies.

For this filter to work for you, there is an important prerequisite.  You must be clear about YOUR agenda.  What is your level of clarity?

Here are some guideline questions:

• What are your three most important personal goals?
• What are your three most important professionals?
• How concisely are these six goals written down and prioritized?

Is is possible that other people’s agendas align with yours?  It happens all the time.  But if you lack clarity on what is most important for you, how can you be certain?

Rising above your workplace noise is not about stopping it.  You instead need to effectively contain and filter it.

A Word from Our Sponsor

True Agenda Clarity is really elusive.  If the effective pursuit of the important is really important to you and figuring it out on your own hasn’t worked so far, you might benefit from coaching.  Guess what, that’s part of what we do.  It’s easy to learn more.

Related

• Opportunity Triage
• Three Simple Steps To Tackling Tough Tasks
• Your Most Important Appointment