As a teacher, you can easily be distracted by students. One of the essential components of successful teaching is to realize this obstacle and managing any distractions with ease. A significant problem with working in an office, classroom, staff room—perhaps even a home office— to conduct your lesson planning and mark assignments is distractions can affect you daily.
Distractions may cause you to miss deadlines, create lower quality work, or use up time you can’t afford to lose.
Distractions impact your success to some degree. If you give an aspect of your teaching duties less attention, then that aspect will suffer. Ignoring the wishes of your principal and students will affect your effectiveness and success as an educator.
Ignoring the quality of your work may betray your objectives, ultimately killing your career. When you aim to be a professional educator, it is essential to take all of your obligations seriously. So what can you do to minimize distractions around the home and school?
Let’s start by focusing on the computer, one of the best and worst instruments of concentration and distraction. Close any computer windows not directly related to what you are working on at the moment.
Do you have a habit of checking your blog, email, or Facebook every few minutes? This behavior is distracting and unproductive. Not only does continually switching from one unrelated activity to another rob you of work time, but it also robs you of your train of thought. It may take several minutes to get your high concentration back.
The fact of the matter is most electronic distractions are bad for productivity, while most active distractions could help. For starters, try to schedule frequent breaks, especially if you are working on the computer. Having a positive attitude while on the job and looking for a new job will increase your overall success in life.
Take a break now and then, not only to rest your eyes and stretch your arms, it will give your brain a much-needed “breather.” Leave the computer and walk around the building or the block a few times. Find a quiet space for 15 minutes to meditate or relax. You should find this will refresh your mind, will relax your body, and will help you escape the glare of a computer screen for just a few precious moments.
People say having a 10-15 minute break every 90 minutes has a positive effect on your productivity. Reduce the number of distractions around your work area. If this is causing you a problem, you may consider minimizing the clutter around your office. Any suggestions for removing distractions?
