By Aisling O'Toole
In an age of constant distraction, concentration is a skill that requires constant practice. New research from Korn Ferry shows that the average amount of time workers focus on a task before becoming distracted has shrunk by two-thirds since 2004, from 2.5 minutes to just 78 seconds.
While some attribute this to the increase in digital communication and see it as a necessary change, those committed to excellence realize their inability to concentrate is impacting on their ability to succeed.
On the surface, taking a few seconds to answer a Slack message or respond to an email thread might seem to make little impact on your working day, but research from the University of California has shown that after each interruption, it takes your brain about 23 minutes to return to the level of focus it was operating at pre-interruption.
Similar research conducted among knowledge workers found that 60% of time is spent on coordination and communication rather than the skilled, strategic output needed to succeed while 66% of workers admit to doing less than two hours each day of deep work.
On a day-to-day basis, you can implement changes to improve your own ability to concentrate.
Clarify Communication Channels
How do you communicate with colleagues? Some teams will communicate through email, some through instant messaging and others through calls and meetings and for the majority of workers, there are elements of all three.
To eliminate distractions and allow for deep work, try to streamline how you communicate with colleagues and cut through constant interactions. If possible, try to encourage colleagues to adopt one form of communication over another rather than jumping across several platforms.
Normalize Saying No
To truly change how you approach your workload you need to learn how to say no to time sucking tasks and those which won't impact your end goal.
However, that can be difficult if you're naturally a people pleaser or don't work in an environment that fosters autonomy. For companies, this looks like creating psychological safety around airing overwhelm and burnout, and empowering staff to say no to requests, meetings and tasks if it comes at a cost to another project or their ability to hit deadlines.
If your current company doesn't encourage you to own your role and time, then maybe it's time to move elsewhere and find a role that will enable you to adopt the practices required to succeed.
Embrace Productivity
Are you working on tasks and projects you feel are propelling your career and the company forward? If the answer is no, start looking at where you spend the majority of your time so you can suggest ways to implement change.
It also gives you information on how best to approach things when escalating to management, as well as a clear understanding on what areas need to change.
Make Meetings Meaningful
Statistics show that workers spend two full days each week attending meetings and replying to emails. How much more could you get done in a day if you had more time to concentrate on difficult tasks.
All meetings, no matter how many attendees, should come with an agenda and a necessary outcome. If the outcome is clear and your attendance is necessary then it's a priority meeting, however, if there's no clear reason for a meeting or your attendance doesn't impact its goal, start reclaiming your day by declining invitations and taking time back.
Recognize Toxicity
Recognise that change cannot come from one employee alone, but it's a start. If you're pushing for a culture change to encourage productivity and increased concentration only to be met with problems at each turn, it's important to recognise that it may be time to find a new working environment. Workplaces and companies can only change if all leaders want to commit to new processes.
The Financial Planning Job Board is full of senior roles at leading finance companies. Three exciting roles are highlighted below to showcase the breadth of the offering––but visit the job board to discover your perfect fit.
Brokerage Relationship Manager, Canadian Mortgages Inc (CMI), Remote
Are you someone who is driven, has a passion for mortgages and a knack for building professional relationships? Do you thrive in a fast-paced, dynamic team environment? CMI Financial Group (CMI) is looking for a Brokerage Relationship Manager to join its growing team. Reporting to the Director of Underwriting, the Brokerage Relationship Manager will generate and maintain strong relationships with brokers, business development officers, lenders, referral partners and other relevant firms help to grow CMI's industry profile. Find more information here.
Director, Data and Analytics, Ripple, New York
Ripple creates crypto solutions for financial institutions, businesses, governments and developers and is now searching for a Data and Analytics Director to take responsibility for the organization's data strategy and lead the effort to build a modern suite of analytical tools for both Ripple employees and external users. You will supervise teams of data scientists, analysts, and data engineers and work closely with the data infrastructure and engineering organizations to create a data platform and analytics solutions at scale. You will have deep experience building data systems and experimentation frameworks from the ground up, familiarity with analytical solutions, along with exceptional leadership and analytical capabilities. Find more information here.
Manager, Finance Applications, Remitly, Seattle
Remitly is on a mission to transform the lives of immigrants and their families by providing the most trusted financial products and services on the planet and is now searching for a new hire - a Manager of Finance Applications to join Remitly's IT team helping to scale its global IT systems and strategy. You'll help lead the team to build platforms to support finance processes to operate at scale, building a best in class tech stack and automations between systems to achieve it. The ideal candidate will have five years' of progressive ERP experience, including at least 3 years with NetSuite and at least three years' working with P2P suites with at least one year with Coupa. Find more information here.
