How do you stay focused?

[Jackie G]

we have confidential waste bags which I generally use for Board papers, but sometimes it's good to just stand at the shredder and think mindless thoughts for a bit!  also if I don't time the bags right, they can sit around for long enough and so I'd rather just shred as those bags are collected weekly.

[gee4]

The industrial shredding machine we have is housed in another building, it's huge, so not anywhere near us.

[officepa]

Totally agree with Jackie, shredding is a great way to be doing something useful but doesn't need much thought and in turn, your mind can relax a little.  I've just finished shredding a huge bag of committee papers and while doing so, planned what I will do tonight, what I need to pick up on the way home, thought about something that happened in the office this morning that caused a problem and how to ensure it doesn't happen in the future and so on.............. . Now feel like I have had a break and am about to start on something with a bit more energy.

Shredding should be part of everyones job description - a very therapeutic exercise - the office equivalent to lying in a hot bath 

[gee4]

Now this surprises me because I would have thought, as a PA, shredding would be way down the list of priorities and seen as taking up time when you could be doing more important things.

Interesting how people manage their time.  I guess I'm too organised.

Tip - don't linger in hot baths, bad for the circulation!

[Atlanta Z3]

Chocolate, I bribe myself if I complete xyz I can have a cookie or one of the specailty coffees in our breakroom
Walk around the building, we have an almost park setting with benches and some nice areas to get away
Chat up another admin for a few minutes (which is why I will let another admin interrupt me unless just totally swamped but then they usually can tell from my desk)

For me if I have to do straight data entry, I have to find a way to get through it.  If I have a project where I know that I will have days of data entry I pre plan some breaks other than lunch, to give my fingers, eyes and brain a break.  I go check on other projects, try to plan to work on something I like for a few minutes.  For example our power point presentations are not up to my standards, different fonts, bullets and test not lined up from slide to slide.  It takes time to reformat slides and it's a self iniated project, so three hours of data entry, fix fve slides, back to data entry.  I like "playing" in power point.

For me it's just a balance of fun/challenging vs. mundane.

[countrigal]

Thank you all for these tips... Keep 'em coming.  I would never have thought of shredding as a way of refocusing, though it makes sense as y'all have explained it.  Just not something that is offered in my position (huge no-no to shred anything ourselves, it has to be gathered by us, given to a 2nd person for review, and then to a 3rd person to bundle for the contractor to take away).  But I really can see where this could be therapeutic and give you that mental break.  Perhaps that tip will give someone else (who can shred) an idea of how to refocus.

So...  more great tips/tricks that you all use???

As for Gee's question, appears that it's a British vs American thing though both are right...  from the dictionary for focus: verb: fo·cused, fo·cus·ing or ( especially British ) fo·cussed, fo·cus·sing

[gee4]

I thought so too CG.  Thanks.

[officepa]

Ah but Gee, it is purely because I am organised and manage my time that I am able to fit in tasks such as shredding (low priority) as well as work (high priority).

It is not the case - as I think you may have been hinting at - that shredding is taking the place of actual work.  It is a job that requires doing and after doing work that may cause you to feel that you are losing your focus, shredding is a good way to do something that has to be done at some point but can also give you time to re-charge your mind.  

By having to juggle high priority work with other jobs of low priority such as shredding, watering the plants and so on, that is organising and prioritising.  If all you have to do is actual work then that is what you do so no organising/juggling is required, you just do your work.

[gee4]

If all you have to do is actual work then that is what you do so no organising/juggling is required, you just do your work.

All work requires prioritising - why would it not?!  I wouldn't call watering plants work. 

It's great to not have to stand and shred paper though.  Couldn't think of anything more tedious.

[JessW]

I dream of 'just doing my job'  .  It would be heaven for me.  As it is, I inevitably end up doing lots of other people's jobs too (too efficient/relied upon/put upon/enthusiastic/knowledgeable - I don't know, just pick one!).
 

Gee, don't forget that if someone has in their job description that they have to 'water the plants', then that is work!  They would certainly not be expected to do it in their own time! 

I too love 'shredding', however I call it filing into the square box (recycle and confidential paper gets put into the same container for on-site shredding in a semi-industrial transportable shredder before being driven away).

Jess 

[gee4]

Mmm, show me a job description that says you have to "water plants".  We don't have plants so thank heavens for that Jess!

Why do women have to do it anyway?!

[Jackie G]

I think that if you worked in an office where lots of people have their own plants, not looked after by a company, then someone (probably the owner) would need to water them.  My boss has two plants in his office and if he is away, I am asked to water them, just once a week, which is when it does become part of my job description which is pretty varied anyway.

And of course if one is a gardener, then watering plants would be a must.  And gardeners come in both male and female varieties LOL

My bottom drawer in my desk pedestal is where everything goes that needs shredded / security bagged for shredding.  That's down to a single page agenda that my boss has written on to reorder / remove items, through to a pack of board papers.  When I do shred, I dig down to the bottom and take the oldest stuff, leaving the newest until it reaches the bottom and so on.  It's also my security blanket and have gone in there a couple of times to retrieve stuff that was finished with, then required again!  Better than a waste paper bin which has everything in it except paper.

All our shredding is collected by a professional shredding company and we regularly received 'You have saved xx trees' certificates from them as a result.

[countrigal]

Ooohhhh.... I like the watering-the-plants idea.  Though in our office most folks have their own plants that they water, I could see taking a "break" and going around with a water jug offering to give their plants all a drink.  Gives socializing time with getting something done with refocusing mind.  I do like that idea...and it wasn't one I would have thought of either.

So what else??  I know there are still more ideas out there, just waiting to be heard!  Those we've heard have been great!  Share more!!!!

[gee4]

Don't see much work being done if you all need this much time to "focus".

[officepa]

Gee - how rude