Time management tips for supercharged productivity

We’ve all been there: cruising through the workday, knocking tasks off our to-do list, and generally kicking butt in the office, when something—a phone call, an email, a news alert—throws you out of the zone. Next thing you know, the day is almost over and you haven’t gotten nearly as much done as you’d hoped to.

Researchers have found it takes workers an average of 23 minutes to get back on task once they’ve been interrupted, so cutting out distractions is crucial. Luckily, many distractions are easy to solve because they’re self inflicted. One key to maximizing efficiency is simply being proactive about avoiding interruptions. These tips from Harvard Business Review will help you become a productivity guru and help relieve the stress of backlogged workflow:

Constantly checking your email and replying to messages as you receive them makes you feel like you’re getting stuff done, but is often just a means of short-term gratification that takes attention away from tasks that require more sustained attention. Rather than monitoring your inbox throughout the workday, carve out a few fifteen minute blocks of time dedicated specifically to reading and responding to email.

The news has been hard to avoid lately. On some days, it seems like a big story breaks every hour, and it’s easy to get caught up in constantly checking for updates during work hours. That time spent browsing articles quickly adds up, and we’ve all found ourselves wondering what happened to the last half hour after falling into a “click hole.”

Rather than clicking over to the news whenever you have a free minute, try scheduling a fifteen minute allowance into your day to get yourself in the loop—maybe right after lunch or as you drink your morning coffee—and bar yourself from news sites outside of that time frame. Regimenting your day will help you cut back on wasted time and be a more efficient worker.

Some of us are distracted by current events, but others find themselves sidetracked by their phones, checking for emails or new Instagram posts. Breaking free of your phone is largely a matter of willpower, but there are simple steps you can take to make things easier on yourself. Start by putting your phone out of arm’s reach, so that you don’t reflexively reach for it out of habit when you have a spare moment. Truly silence your phone—that’s right, turn off vibration mode, too—so that ringtones or buzzes don’t jolt you out of your groove. Turn off email notifications so that you’re fully present at meetings and not constantly glancing down while a colleague is talking. Some people find that phones lose their draw when their displays are set to only show black-and-white, without colors (here’s how to activate grayscale mode for Android and iOS).