| You know what that picture is about? 
Your current day. Yes. Your current working day. On the left, easy day, on the right, bad day … Everything is planned, organized and should be running more or less easily. You are fully equipped. Hundreds of little actions have to be performed. Unfortunately, often, they have bad impacts between them. Let's start with describing a common working context by making an inventory of the common and usual equipment for a modern professional: - A desktop computer with password
- A laptop with password
- A personal cell phone with a PIN
- A professional cell phone with a PIN
- Head phones to listen to some peaceful music to get concentrated
- Head phones with a microphone to make and to receive some calls
- USB cables
- An electronic cigarette (or an old school one) maybe?
Now let's make an inventory of the usual software set you can be using each day - A real-time communication tool
- Your mailbox client
- Your favourite streaming music provider
- Your operating system
- Your favourite personal mailbox opened in your favourite browser
- WhatsApp, SnapChat, Instagram, Facebook, … to be sure to be 200% connected
We all have our reasons to use each of them for good or less good reasons. Anyway, we use them. This is how it works nowadays. Modern life comes with a lot of tools, devices and habits. Plus, sometimes, you can have some activities potentially provided by your boss because he's so cool, just as we are - Table football
- Fridge with ice creams, drinks (a daily and real temptation)
- Video games
- TV screens
Without neglecting natural activities, - Receiving a visit in your office, in your company
- Going to toilets
- Fall asleep
- Dream watching through the window
- Talk about personal subjects with your work mates
- Eat something
- Drink something
- Take a hot coffee
Until now, I did not mention any production activity. Work is about production right? Now let's put some numbers by giving for each of them how many times they interrupt in a way or another in a month. It is a hard exercise but it has to be done. | | How they interrupt? | How many times a month? | | Desktop computer with a password | Screen saver with password (forgotten?) | 5
| | Laptop with a password | Low battery Screen saver with password (forgotten?) | 5
| | Personal cell phone with a PIN | Low battery Receive calls, notifications, texts | 10 | | Professional cell phone with a PIN | Low battery Receive calls, notifications, texts
Update
| 10 | | Head phones to listen to some peaceful music to get concentrated | Put them on, put them off again & again | 50 | | Head phones to make and to receive some calls | Low battery Put them on, put them off again & again Fix Bluetooth troubles | 50
| USB cables
| Find one because it has become urgent right now
| 10
| | Electronic or an old school cigarette maybe? | Leave the building, come back inside | 50
| | Real-time communication tool | Receive calls, sometimes unwanted calls | 100 | | Mailbox client | Receive mails, sometimes aggressive mails
Receive mails notifications, meetings as well … | 600
| | Favourite streaming music provider | Update Choose music Ad interruption | 60 | | Operating system | Update
Update password | 5 | | Favourite personal mailbox opened in your favourite browser | Receive mails, Receive mails notifications | 100
| | Table football | A new temptation and fun temptation | 10
| | Fridge with ice creams, drinks, fruits, chocolate | This is addictive isn't it? J
| 15 | | Video games | Let's empty your head playing | 10 | | TV screens | Why not having an ice cream in front of the TV screen. Don't fall asleep please J | 5 | | Receiving a visit in your office, in your company | Wanted or unwanted, pleasant or not, it is necessary for sociability
| 40 | | Going to toilets | Any choice?
| 50 | | Talk about personal subjects with your work mates | Necessary for team effort, this has to be kept under control | 15 | Eat or drink something | Be careful, electronic devices | 30
|
Whatever time they last, each interruption breaks concentration and makes you think about something else. At this moment, an effort is required to go back on tracks.
For now, you have a good introduction and a way to start thinking about your own context. With the next part of this blog post, we will go further and deeper talking about productivity and OmniContext Personal Analytics. |