It’s a Wonder We Can Complete Any Project

 

It’s a wonder we can complete any project.

Consider:  Have you ever lived through a day where you begin with a list of action items that are a priority, only to get to the end and find that, despite your concentration and work, you have little completed on that list? That you completed a lot of other work for other reasons? Does this happen very often? It does?

Do you think you are different than everyone else? No? Then multiply that problem by everyone in your project.

It’s a wonder we can complete any project. 

Delving into this phenomenon in more detail, Harvard Business School Associate Professor Francesca Gino has written Sidetracked: Why Our Decisions Get Derailed, and How We Can Stick to the Plan . She is a behavioral scientist who has defined several categories – categories mind you – of forces that cause distraction. Her three categories result from

• The outside world, where distractions come from irrelevant information, the structure of our environment, even how questions are  framed
• Our relationships with others, where distractions arise from our bias based on superficial similarities to others, our inability to empathize, and comparing ourselves to others
• Within ourselves, such as our beliefs about our own competence and abilities and our overly narrow focus when evaluating information and making decisions

Just think about the breadth of the factors that can distract you, the siren call all around you on any day drawing you away from what you plan to do. Does this make you feel helpless as a project manager? All is not lost. Perhaps if you just bring awareness of the extent of this problem to your workers, they will be able to self-manage to improve their own performance.

Consider:

• You can send messages to the project workforce to describe how distractions can be a big problem
• You can speak in team meetings about “the distraction of the week”
• You can have workers tell their funny but frustrating stories of being diverted from priorities by certain work events or people. This may bring agreement and consensus to find a solution right away.
• You can ask workers in corporate social media to discuss their biggest distracting force at work and how they surmount it. Maintain awareness by keeping the conversation going.

Seriously, though, it’s a wonder we can complete any project.

What’s your experience? What ideas do you have to help workers avoid getting distracted?