Who hasn’t felt overwhelmed by too many emails, meetings, phone calls and the over-all fast paced of life in the 21st century workplace? Take Molly, for example. She sat down at her desk to start her first day as head of learning and development at a mid-sized bank. Ready to dive into her job, she logged into her computer and was immediately confronted with 385 messages in her inbox. Molly’s enthusiasm for her new job quickly soured when she realized it could take days to work through the emails and that there would be even more piling up in the meantime.

Another case in point: Bill saw he had a meeting on his calendar and didn’t question the details. He simply attended and soon realized he was bored. His attention was drifting. So he pulled out his BlackBerry and began looking at messages – until he heard his boss say, "Bill, what do you think we should do?" He was totally clueless and mortified that he had no answer.
These are two real life stories from the new book 18 Minutes: Find Your Focus, Master Distraction, and Get the Right Things Done (Business Plus), by business consultant and author Peter Bregman, who writes on workplace issues for Harvard Business Review. Bregman says there is a solution to being overwhelmed and losing focus – and it involves managing yourself by using specific strategies that only take about 18 minutes a day.

The why’s and how’s of distraction

He explains that we don’t only become distracted and lose concentration from boredom but also when we are zeroing in on challenging tasks. "We have a momentary feeling of wanting to escape what’s difficult or boring, so we jump out," Bregman says. And that’s why we may take a break to check out social media, shopping web sites or our email and end up spending far too much time away from the task at hand. He also points to research that shows our brains are wired in a way that connects emotions to attention. So if we are feeling a strong emotion such as frustration about a home problem or aggravation with a co-worker that can cause us to be distracted from our work, too.

While other time management experts advise on ways to do more by multi-tasking efficiently, Bregman has another perspective. He says multitasking at work can be a bad strategy because it distracts from the most important tasks we should be concentrating on -- and this idea is backed up by studies over the last decade that show multitasking can reduce our ability to sustain attention. Of course, some people are great at multitasking but, Bregman says, for most of us, multitasking at work while trying to solve a complex problem turns out to be counterproductive.

How to refocus

How is it possible for busy people to focus on the top priorities at our work and in our private lives, too? One key, Bregman says, is taking the time to ask ourselves what’s truly important to us. He advises taking inventory of priorities at the annual, daily, and moment-to-moment level; setting boundaries and sticking to them; determining goals and eliminating distractions that are interfering with those goals.

He also suggests we can work on "rewiring" our brains by visualizing an internal reset device. When you find yourself distracted, Bregman explains, you can mentally press the reset button and get back on track. And instead of trying to speed up and do more when you realize you’ve been distracted, it can be more effective to slow down for a few minutes as you "reset" yourself with a short walk or by simply taking a deep, cleansing breath – breathe deeply, count to five and hold the breath, and then let it out slowly.

You’ll take more control of your work and life in general if you work on becoming aware of your behavior, Bregman writes. For instance, he sets the alarm on his cell phone to beep every hour, reminding him to stay on task. What’s more, because being hungry or tired creates vulnerability to distraction, he points outs it’s important to self-manage behaviors you can control – like when to eat and getting enough sleep.

It’s also key to start your day with a to-do list. But it will backfire if you fall into the habit of making it overly ambitious, creating anxiety, uncertainty and more difficulty in concentrating. Bregman’s book covers how to choose three or four priorities that are realistic, specific, and help your brain to focus.

The 18-minute plan to manage your day

Bregman points to an unlikely source of inspiration that helped him figure out how people can focus and stick to goals when there are so many things demanding attention -- the late Jack LaLanne. The famed fitness guru had a ritual that he practiced every day up until his death at age 96. He stuck to a daily two-hour exercise routine, day in and day out.
Bregman isn’t suggesting we all work out like LaLanne but he says managing our days needs to become a ritual, too, which becomes an integral part of our lives. To that end, he’s distilled a daily plan that works by steering focus deliberately throughout the day. As explained in 18 Minutes: Find Your Focus, Master Distraction, and Get the Right Things Done , it involves only small chunks of time but can add up to hours saved due to inefficiency and distraction.

Step 1 (Five minutes): Sit down and write a clear, realistic to-do list first thing in the morning before even turning on your computer. Bregman devotes a chapter to "The Three-Day Rule", explaining why anything on your to-do list that sits there for thee days gets a slot on your calendar or gets taken off the list.

Step 2 (One minute out of every work hour): Take time to refocus and remember who you are. Set your watch, phone or computer to ring or beep every hour, pause and take a deep breath. Ask yourself if you’ve been productive over the last hour. Bottom line: manage your day hour by the hour instead of letting the hours run your life.

Step 3 (Five minutes): When your work day is over, turn off your computer and take a few minutes to ask yourself questions such as what you learned that day, how your work went and if you need to update anyone. Then finish up with emails or calls to make sure you’ve communicated with the people you need to contact.

Sherry Baker is a writer from Atlanta, Georgia. She last wrote the article Ten Tips for Scoring Real Bargains on Black Friday for Synergy.