CPA Trendlines

… And how to stay focused.

How do YOU stay focused? Add your own comments here.

In a CPA Trendlines survey of 672 finance and accounting professionals, 22% complain they are “frequently” distracted. And another 5% say they are “terminally” distracted… “What was the question?”

But seriously… The number of accountants are who don’t suffer some problematic distraction is in the single digits. In fact no one says they are never distracted. Most CPAs are in the “sometimes” or “often” club.

Email may be one of the biggest problems.

Some 39% of CPAs admit they check their email “In real time, as it arrives.” They’re “addicted.”

Another 44% check email “frequently” or about every hour.

Besides email, the biggest diversion is web surfing, with 48% of CPAs admitting it’s a “distraction.”

“Listening to music comes in at 17%, followed by IM’ing (that’s “instant messaging,” for those of us over 30) at 7%. Then “fiddling with the computer’s settings” at 7%. And “gaming” at 3%.

Not surprisingly, the “other” category in the list of digital distractions is a long one. Here are a few samples:

• Amazon
• blackberry
• cell phone calls and TMs
• Check stocks
• checking news stories and personal e-mail box
• Checking personal e-mail
• Checking the news on line, checking stock quotes
• checking the weather on line
• Clicking through e-mail links-like this survey
• Colleagues calling on speaker phone
• Ebay
• Excessively reading business-related articles
• Filling out needless surveys like this one
• forced short breaks for sanity
• i read BBC, NYTimes, Aljazeera and Reuters
• In office messages via the computer.
• Interoffice instant messages
• JUNK MAIL
• Listen to NPR and talk radio
• Listening to online talk radio/programs
• Listening to Podcasts
• Listening to talk radio
• organizing files, deleting cookies, defraging
• Reviewing old emails again that weren’t deleted
• RSS
• Skype
• stock quotes
• Surfing web to find solutions
• Timekeeping/organizing desk/files/etc
• Viewing industry articles on company’s website
• Voice mail
• watching the market

So we asked, “How do you stay focused?” Were getting plenty of ideas.

Here’s one of the most thoughtful:

1. I do one thing at a time (I don’t multitask well),

2. get ample sleep,

3. Isolate myself from distractions,

4. don’t respond to interruptions (phone calls, unexpected visitors, other peoples’ “emergencies”)

5. The pressure of deadlines also helps keep me focused.

But more were cries of anguish, like this:

A few weeks ago, I moved my inbox off my desk, so now I’m not tempted to check it frequently… it works! Also, when I close my laptop on my desk, I am able to focus much better; however, I rarely have the courage to do this!

Still, everyone has their own technique. Here are a bunch of ideas, verbatim:

• Actually get away from the office and the ability to check emails.
• Sometimes the distractions help keep me focused. I’m better able to concentrate if I take some time every once in a while to get my head out of the trees.
• Become deadline driven to meet the task.
• Been working out of my home for 20 years. It’s something you learn if you prefer eating to starvation.
• Block off time for project work on my calendar. Start the morning with priority work and not meetings or email.
• block out
• block out people
• By deciding how much I need done before i go home and then just go for it.
• by ignoring everything else around me
• By keeping a “To Do” list and a deadline calendar.
• By keeping busy.
• By making notes.
• By planning and structure.
• by setting priorities
• by working on urgent items constantly!
• Caffeine and nicotine (smokeless) – which of course I know is contrary to its actual affects
• Carving out blocks of time by putting on the do not disturb or go to my clients’ offices to perform review of my staff’s work when possible.
• Categorizing emails by importance and handling at appointed time.
• Check email less often when I need to focus.
• Clear my desk of all but the project I’m working on and close my door.
• Clear my desk, putting only current project on it. Close my door. Put “do not disturb” on my phone, and keep email OFF
• Close door and turn off email(but not as often as I should)
• close door don’t take phone calls and ignore e-mail
• Close door to office, don’t answer phone, and stick to the to-do list planned for the day. Try to do this 1 or 2 days a week.
• Close email, close the door, hold all calls!
• close my door, tackle many small tasks or find things to delegate
• Coffee and Music
• completely ignore all sounds and movement unless directly approached
• concentrate on deadlines
• Concentrate on what has to get done
• create a deadline
• Daily planning. Ignore trivial matters and remain focused on the priorities.
• Deadlines!!!!
• diet coke
• Discipline
  
• Do not answer the phone or look at email or work at home. Seldom do I get called at home
• do not disturb button on phone, shut the door, work from home
• Doing what needs to be done to complete the task, which usually includes emails.
• Don’t
• don’t answer the phone except once a day to take off messages and return calls
• Don’t do everything on pc
• Don’t listen to music, send calls directly to voice mail and partially closing the office door (never completely unless I’m in a meeting or on a conference call).
• Don’t read emails or answer phone messages
• Drink
• Each morning make a list of what is important to get done that day and stay with those items. Try to limit e-mail distractions by reading messages completely 4 x per day, but this is tough.
• eliminate the distractions
• Encourage people to send a detailed email with the question or need
• Eyes glued to computer.
• Find it easiest when I turn the e-mail off, and don’t have it as an open window or tab at the bottom of the screen…
• Focus on the priorities.
• Get rid of the emergencies and then focus on the required duties. Adhere to a “To Do” list in Outlook or hand-written.
• go home/wait for others to go home
• grab my own attention and throw myself into a file.
• Have staff book meetings instead of answering all their questions in real time.
• Hold calls
  close office door
  close email
• hold calls, and DON’T check email – focus only on work before me
• Hourly To Do lists
• I am a GTD (David Allen) fan and i have a persanal workflow. I have a system that takes care of my attention and get focussed.
• I block out time on my calendar where I don’t check e-mail or answer my phone. If I really need to focus I shut my door as well.
• I can’t! Used to take Strattera… but can’t stand the side effects.
• I come into the office very early and try to get my work done that requires concentration before the others come in and before the phones start ringing. Otherwise, it is very difficult to stay focused due to constant interruptions.
• I disabled the e-mail notification sound in my Outlook and hid my Windows task bar so I can’t see the notification icon. But when I reveal the task bar, I can see the notification icon and then I can’t focus until I read the e-mail. Next step – disable the notification icon. omg…i’m getting the shakes already! :-(
• I do my best work when the building is quiet after dinner in the evening.
• I enjoy what I do – thus am just driven
• I get very close to my computer screen and slouch over my keyboard so people can see not to distract me.
• I have to close my door and work on one thing at a time in order to finish.
• I have to shut my office door and tell my assistant to take messages unless it’s an absolute emergency and I will call them back later or tomorrow.
• I make sure I insult everyone I work with when I arrive each morning then, while they sit at their desks stewing over it, I can get my job done. By lunch hour, everyone makes up.
• I plan to be uninterrupted for a certain period of time and tell my associates the time frame and then proceed to work away from my desk, i.e. at a conference table far from the computer, office phone, cell phone …..
• I shut the door of my office, forward the phone and turn off e-mail.
• I stay late after everyone leaves
• I try not to look at email as frequently.
• I tune out the noise and concentrate on what I’m doing. Actually listening to music very quietly deadens the outside noise.
• I usually have to resist the urge to handle everything at once.
• if i could turn off my email, my phone, and shut my door…
• If I’m busy, I am focused. Otherwise, just try to stay on target but it’s not always easy.
• If it’s a client that I’m deeply involved with, it’s easier, but otherwise I take little breaks to get coffee, walk around, that helps in the process.
• Ignore email, put phone on DND.
• Ignore emails and put the phone on forward.
• Ignore the casual chitter-chatter outside my office.
• it all comes down to environment – if it’s quiet with little movement and other activity around me, I can concentrate and get the job done.
• Just be very careful. And keep work area organized.
• Just try to concentrate whenever I can.
• keep lists
• Keep to-do lists. Try to complete one project before starting the next. Since most of my e-mail is from overseas, I deal with my in-box first thing in the morning and only check it during the day if I’m expecting something specific.
• Keep work to be done on my desk or close by to remind me of all the work I need to get done.
• Let VM pick up most calls and call back when task completed. Try and work on two tasks only at a time, that is work on one and then take a break and then pick up the next one. Until one is complete and then add a new task in.
• listen to music
• Maintain a detailed to-do list
• Make a list, pick one task at a time and focus on it!
• Make to do lists.
• Move to a quiet area
• My best method is to put a sign on the door saying that I’m working on a project and will re-emerge at X o-clock.
• Often resort to closing the door and using the do-no-disturb on the phone to setting everything aside to focus on the task at hand.
• Once or twice a week , I will take work home to better concentrate. I will try to complete a task before looking back at the computer.
• one task at a time.
• Only have one project on my desk at a time.
• only keep what i am working on open. the more stuff i have open on my desktop, the more i will be looking at other stuff
• organize my priorities, close the Internet browser, and focus on my objectives.
• our office walls are thin. I turn on the radio to a classical station to muffle the conversation so I am not tempted to listen
• Outlook Tasks With Constant Reminders. David Allen Gettings Things Done Approach
• Outlook tasks, appointments, close my door
• Play music softly to drown out the noises outside my office; if it’s been a distracting week, I’ll work for a few extra hours on the weekend to make up for the downtime
• Play music. It tends to block out the noise around me so that I can focus.
• Prepare a prioritized tax list and try to stick to it.
• Prioritize projects; calendar my time; schedule time to return phone calls & emails
• Prioritizing things I need to get done today vs. tomorrow, (occasionally) shutting the door and avoiding checking e-mails until goal achieved
• Put a “do not disturb” sign on my door, and turn off my email notifier.
• Put my phone on do not disturb and shut my door. A few still don’t get the hint and knock.
• put phone on DND and close email
• quiet room- listen to music
• reflecting on just what is in front of me at that moment and blocking out all other items
• Relaxing music
• remove clutter, close the door, turn off the phone
• reorganize what i am working on
• Responding to phone calls at designated times (need to apply same policy for email); shutting door when uninterrupted focus is required. Other than that – Referencing to Prioritization list updated daily; generally right before I go home.
• Retrace my footsteps as to what I did already and what I still have to do.
• Scheduling time to work uninterrupted.
• Set aside time for work with no distractions – put the phone on do not disturb
• set deadlines to finish small tasks before allowing interruptions
• Set goal to complete current job before attending to any distractions
• Set Goals for Day
• setting a time on on accomplishing a task and sticking with it
• shut door, turn off phone, mental strength
• Shut my door
• Shut my door and forward my phone to my secretary. I’ve also found it effective to hold larger projects till after 5 pm when no on else is in the office.
• shut my door and put a fan on for white noise and close outlook
• Shut the door and turn off the phone.
• simply concentrate on the task in front of me
• Since our firm is in the dark ages and doesn’t believe in servers, internet access for all, laptops for all audit staff, etc, digital distractions are nonexistent. When you work in an environment that does not believe in socialization among staff members, it’s pretty easy to focus.
• sometimes I close my door; many times I stay late because it is quieter for working.
• specific “to do’s” for the day/week.
• Speed reading each e-mail and then selecting those for further review and insight.
• stay a distance from PC
• Adderall
• stop answering phones or looking at mail
• Submerge myself in to the project at hand
• Taking myself offline.
• Task lists
• Telephone DND, try to avoid e-mails
• Tell my secretary to take messages for a couple of hours and force myself to sit at my desk and focus on work — it’s not easy!!
• Tell them I don’t want to keep them from “their” work any longer. If that doesn’t work, I turn away from them and start working at my computer.
• The only way I can try to stay focused is to shut the glass doors of my office and take the phone off my desk so that employees are more aware that I am trying to get something done.
• Try to funnel non business activities around lunch time and not allow them to interfere during working hours – that just means I will have to stay later to finish the work that could have been completed.
• try to get one thing done before starting another
• Try to have assistant take messages instead of interupting me with phone calls all day long and then I return the calls all at once.
• try to ignor the notifications
• Try to ignore the emails for a while and focus on work
• Try to keep my door shut and look out the window versus at the door or computer screen.
• Try to set internal deadlines; try not to check e-mail so often (not very successfully); do not answer phones when working on particular projects
• Try to use a daily schedule where i block out time to get things done.
• tune out or turn off everything
• Turn my do not disturb on my phone, shut my door.
• turn off digital / electronics
• Turn off internet, forward calls to voice mail and shut door to work for large blocks of time. Also work at home at night.
• turn off the phone, close Outlook, close my door
• Use caller ID to be selective about calls I answer
• walk away for a couple of minutes and then return with a clear head
• Watch my calendar on what pops up to do.
• work alone; prioritize; make lists
• Work at home one day a week. Close my door when necessary
• Work by myself at night
• Work early or work late when others aren’t working
• Work in a quiet environment
• Work later than others in office to avoid distractions. Block out time on calendar to avoid letting meetings fill entire day. Mentally commit to complete one task before moving on to anything else.
• WORK LONGER
• Work nights – this sucks
• Work odd hours
• Work on one item at a time.
• Work on weekends and at nights on larger and more difficult file reviews
• Work out of the office.
• Work when others are not around, early in the morning, at lunch time

So how do YOU stay focused? Leave a comment, here.

Posted July 23, 2008
Related Topics: email, office, survey results, web