NOVEL SOLUTIONS
Finding Focus Despite
Distractions T
SHANNON WETZEL, SENIOR EDITOR
he scenario will be familiar with many readers: You can’t focus at work; you are constantly interrupted by email, texts, phone calls and other alerts; your mind
jumps from task to task without making headway on either; your work is suff ering. In his book, “Driven to Distraction at Work,” Edward
Hallowell delves into a phenomenon he calls attention deficit trait that has becoming increasingly common in the workplace. Hallowell off ers six of the most common distractions at
work (screen sucking, multitasking, idea hopping, worrying, playing the hero and dropping the ball) and provides insight into how to overcome them. Because he is an M.D. who specializes in training people to focus, the book is fi lled with examples from his casework in helping individuals fi nd the source of their distraction and ways to cope. Hallowell off ers plenty of guidance and explanation to
what leads to unfocused work and why its detrimental to meeting your perfomance goals as well as your personal well being. His solutions aren’t quick fi xes, nor are they all that mind-blowing. His advice requires eff ort although his recomendations make sense: take care of yourself to ensure you have energy, tackle your hardest tasks at your peak performance time of the day, unplug email/text/phone calls at various times in the day, meditate, instill structure in your day, make emotional connections, etc. “Driven to Distraction at Work” doesn’t off er a new
fad focusing technique. Instead, it asks the reader to think deeply about how and why they are distracted and then points them in the direction of how to regain focus.
“Don’t assume working harder is the answer. Most likely, working smarter is.”
Metalcasters’ Translation: A constant stream of emails from customers and staff and alerts
from digital equipment monitoring can give a sense that quick responses and more work hours are necessary to do your job. But they steal time to focus on aspects of running your metalcasting facility that would ultimately improve your performance.
February 2015 MODERN CASTING | 57 ABRIDGED
Relevance to Metalcasters Technical Diffi culty Self-Help Fluff Profi t Booster
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