Whether you are a student or already in the workforce,

various distractions pose a serious threat to your learning

productivity. While a couple of minutes here and there
spent on social media or other activities seems innocuous
at first, the amount of time you actually spend on things
that are not essential to your studies add up yearly to
precious hours maybe even days that you could
have otherwise spent productively on your learning tasks.
In fact, a 2005 Basex study cites that U.S. businesses lose
$588 billion per year due to interruptions.1 On a smaller
scale, diversions such as games and social media
represent major roadblocks to skill acquisition and
mastery.
To help you tune out the noise and focus on your studies,
weve put together this helpful list of tricks and tools.
1. Develop a routine and stick to
it.
Whether we like it or not, we live in an ADHD world.
Without a set schedule, life can become chaotic rather
quickly. To prevent chaos from overrunning your priorities,
a Harvard Business Review article suggests adopting
rituals in our daily and weekly routines.2 By closely
following the rituals you have set, you can maintain
focus and work better. As you progress in your course
work, you can evolve the rituals that make up your daily
routines using different techniques and practices that
work better for you.
Quick Tip: Sync all of your course milestones with
Google Calendar or other mobile calendar apps. Dont
forget to set self-study time into your schedule.
2. Find the right place to study or
work.
Picking the right place to study is crucial because it has a
major influence on the efficiency of the learning process.3
While you might like to study in your room, youll easily
be distracted by TV, video games, or fashion magazines
lying next to your bed. A coffee shop might seem like a
good option but it can be noisy at times, and if you live in
a place like New York City, youd be surprised at the
amount of crazy people that cause commotions in public
areas on a daily basis. Be sure to find a quiet and well lit
place. If you are planning on spending long hours working
or studying, its a good idea to make sure that your chair
and desk are ergonomically designed for greater
productivity. A bad physical setup can mess up both your
posture and your work efficiency.
3. Turn off all electronic devices.
While we all love our tablets and smart phones, these
gadgets expose us to a world of distractions. Ironically,
many of these devices were meant to save us time but
end up wasting valuable time instead. For many people,
cell phones have become a new best friend that
enables them to see what everyone is up to, a highly
appealing feature especially for people who lack real
human connections. Even if you arent actively trying to
access your smart phone, youll be distracted by
notifications, texts, and incoming calls. The bottom line is
that your mobile device is the enemy of productivity and
you should declare your study space and time a gadget-
free zone.
4. Establish priorities via the CEO
& Worker Bee modes.
Our friend Chase Reeves from Fizzle has a great theory on
working. He proposes that within all of us are two modes
of action: our inner CEO and our inner Worker Bee. Your
inner CEO is the planner. He or she strategizes, prioritizes
whats important and plans the day. When the CEO is
done planning, your Worker Bee comes to life. This is your
inner task rabbit that carries out the activities set by
the CEO.
In that vein, we recommend keeping not one, but two to-
do lists. One is a master list of all of your high level
priorities, and the other would be your daily to-do list. If
you love lists, then you might even want to consider a
Not To-Do list, that tracks time-wasting activities you
should avoid. Theres a couple of cool and useful apps
that can help you track multiple to-do lists: Clear
(Mac/iOS) and Wunderlist (PC/Android/iOS). You can then
get your tasks done one at a time. Remember,
multitasking is counter-productive4 despite what every job
description says. Dont do it!
5. Visualize with paper.
In many contemporary classrooms and workplaces,
tablets and computers are beginning to replace pen and
paper for note-taking. However, you are better off
ditching the keyboard and writing out your notes by hand.
It keeps you more engaged and provides a means for
visualizing ideas, and questions.
6. Shut down other windows.
When taking any online course and especially when
learning a digital skill like online marketing, programming,
graphic design and web development, its virtually
impossible to avoid using your computer. While engaging
course materials, studying, or practicing lesson concepts,
it is of paramount importance to be diligent in blocking
out the potential distractions that exist on your computer:
news and entertainment sites, social media, video games,
and instant messaging.
 For those who lack the self control needed to ward off
digital distractions, consider the following apps:
Website blockers Use SelfRestraint (PC) and SelfControl
(Mac) to block distracting websites for predetermined
blocks of time.
Software blockers Concentrate and Think are two very
cool apps (Mac) that help you eliminate distracting
software on your desktop.
Time trackers Rescue Time is an awesome app that runs
behind the scenes and helps you figure out how you
spend your time.
Productivity-enhancing tools Adopt the pomorodo
technique, a method of breaking up your work into 25
activity blocks that you can manage and rotate easily.
There are a number of pomodoro apps to help you get
this done.
7. Know when to say No.
When you are learning something new and exciting, its
easy to take on a lot of coursework, projects, and
networking meetings that are relevant to what you are
doing. Well and good, but doing so sometimes abruptly
leads to situations wherein you find yourself intensely
busy yet still facing the dilemma of whether to fit other
related activities in your already tight schedule.
When taking on new work or meetings, make sure that
these activities are part of your higher purpose. Start
saying NO5 to activities that complicate your schedule,
suck up your time, and create stress. On the other hand
say YES to activities that simplify your life, reduce stress,
and create more time.
8. Set reminders.
In any endeavor, it becomes very easy to forget stuff as
you get busier and busier. If you are intensely involved in
 a project, for example, it often happens that you become
so engrossed on what you are doing that you lose track of
time and miss an appointment or an important phone
call. Fortunately, Post-it and reminder apps exists. I am a
big fan of physical Post-its but sometimes, even those
fail to get the job done. If you are a Mac person, OS X and
iOS have a simple yet effective Reminders app;
otherwise, Remember the Milk is a great reminder app
that works on any device.
9. Schedule distractions.
As the famous saying goes, All work and no play makes
Jack a dull boy. The fact is, working without breaks will
do far worse than making Jack dull. It can get him real
tired and burned out on studying the subject, abruptly
preventing further progress in his learning track. To avoid
burnout, set regular breaks into your schedule and think
of them as rewards for hard work. When practicing
Pomodoro, youll have a brief five-minute break every 25
minutes but you should also plan larger breaks every 90
to 120 minutes throughout your day to keep you fresh
and alert. Make sure to also schedule me time or time
with loved ones in the evenings and and on weekends.
10. Reflect and adjust.
You will want to closely monitor yourself on a daily and
weekly basis and make adjustments. You should regularly
ask yourself the following questions. While these are
related to your studies and how to better acquire new
skills, you could just as well use them in any work or life
situation.
What is my main goal?
What is my goal for the week?
What do I need to do today?
Where am I at the moment?
 Is this technique/schedule/place/relationship/situation
working?
Is it worth improving? How can I improve it?
We hope you use these tips to improve your study and
work efficiency.