The multitude of technology and communication devices available to us today have made it very difficult to stay focused on even the most important tasks. Core principles such as high productivity and customer service are interrupted every few minutes by a flashing instant message indicator in the menu bar, a buzzing cell phone, or a single-sentence email.

A headline on ABCNews.coms, “Multitasking Drives Workers to Distraction” sums up the effect of the problem in our workplace.

Here are a few steps that I’ve found instrumental in taking back my day from these time and attention thieves:

1. Simple Planning: Spend just fifteen minutes at the start of each day setting goals for yourself. Write them down on paper. Remember “First Things First“? Well, it still works.
2. Journal and Observe: Log your time each day. This doesn’t need to be detailed. For example, “8:15-9:00am Email”. You may be surprised by where you spend your time.
3. Protect Your Time: Schedule blocks of time for those projects that you decide are both urgent and important (there’s Stephen Covey again). Then turn off email, turn off all of your phones, and log out of instant messenger. If someone really needs you, they’ll find you.

According to the ABCNews.com article, office workers are interrupted, on average, once every 10 and a half minutes and it takes them 23 minutes to get back to their original task. Don’t jeopardize your relationships, your customer service or your productivity by allowing distractions to steal your focus.