Industry Magazine Commercial Kitchen Fall 2016 | Page 23

EVERYONE knows this whole smartphone-driven reality
we’re living in has gone a little crazy, but most of us aren’t up
for doing much about it because we like it so much that we sit
down for a second and “Wait. Oh no! Where’s my phone? Hey,
have you seen my phone? Hey, what the heck? Where is it?”
It’s our passion. We’re devout. Think about it—we’re the
most conversational people in the history of the world, and
it’s not even close. But it also feels impossible to disconnect.
Between sunrise and sunset, we individually receive and send
an average of 215 emails. In the same span, we collectively
post a staggering 2.5 billion pieces of content to Facebook
and tweet five hundred million times, which helps explain the
approximately 150 interactive sessions each of us manages to
have with our phone before going to bed. Our entanglement
with our electronic devices is increasing so fast, that by the
time you finish reading the blurb on your phone that says
Americans look at their phones once every six minutes, you’ve
just helped push the national average down a few seconds.
Thanks to our constant connectivity, the world has never
been noisier. There’s too much coming at us, interfering
with our tasks and relationships. It’s made it harder, quite
frankly, to do anything and everything well. But what it has
undoubtedly impacted most is our capacity to focus on our
most important work in the quiet of our offices.
Studies reveal that we are interrupted every three
minutes during work, and it takes us twenty-three minutes
on average to get back to our original task. More than half of
our distractions are completely self-inflicted. The good news
is that, by reading this article, you actually are making great
use of your time. We could all use a little help making our way
through this noisy world more strategically.
Attention is one of your most valuable resources, and
you can learn to take that resource back. By intentionally
implementing a few strategies, you can separate yourself
from your competition and enrich your life along the way.
You can reclaim your time, energy, and focus and put them
towards the things that matter most.

More Trees. Less Brick.

You know those moments when you are completely unable
to concentrate due to mental fatigue? Psychologists studied
people like you just at that very moment and divided them into
two groups and gave them separate tasks immediately after
those moments. Those people in Group A took a short walk
through a busy downtown. Those in Group B walked through
various natural environments (parks, etc). What happened?
The walks Group A took did not help them at all upon returning
to work, but Group B received significantly better results in
their ability to focus on key tasks after their walks. According
to the Attention Restoration Theory, even simply reviewing
photos of nature can have the same effect. If your mind is in
a constant state of chaos, review photos of nature, or take a
walk through the local park. Your work will benefit.

Prioritize Prioritization

Your prefrontal cortex is, in large part, the area of your
brain responsible for focus. It’s an amazing organ, but it’s an

FALL 2016

organ that tires easily. Every time you actively push away a
distraction, you are sapping resources that will reduce your
ability to do it effectively the next time. The solution? Start
your day by setting your priorities, from the most mentally
draining to the least, rather than on the basis of who wants
a response fastest. Schedule the most mentally draining
work at the early part of your day (assuming you don’t have a
hangover!). Fight to keep the first two hours of work sacred.
Ask for meetings to be later in the day so you don’t have
your most precious mental resource robbed by a boss or
colleague droning on about a subject that means nothing to
you (probably using PowerPoint in a way that would make you
want to rip the computer’s power plug out of the wall).

Move the Calendar Front and Center

While prioritized task lists are a huge step up from the letmy-newest-email-tell-me-what’s-important strategy, it’s not
enough. Take your priorities and assign time chunks to cover
each one. Your calendar, rather than your inbox or task list,
should now be the primary “screen” on your computer.
As I use Google Calendar, I literally watch as the red line
slides down my screen, reminding me that I am running out
of time on a task before I must move on to the next one. For
example, I have seventeen more minutes to finish this article.
This causes my brain to release the right concoction of
chemicals and neurotransmitters to allow me to work like I’m
up against a tight deadline. Plus, I am leveraging what Jonah
Berger calls game mechanics (or “Why I can’t quit you, Candy
Crush!”