{cringe} Joan.

Joan was a nice 50-something but man, she could talk your head off. Everything was a crisis and no matter what you did, the complaining continued. If she wasn't complaining, she was talking about her 2 cats. Honestly, it was a nightmare. In fact, I resigned from a company for unrelated issues and 2 months later she did the same thing. She moved with me to the new company and actually worked in my department. I compare the entire episode to a mosquito that just won't leave you alone.

Anyway, enough of that. I have gotten over it and moved onto yet another company. However, annoyances at work are common so you better know how to deal with them. If not, your productivity will plummet and ultimately that's what you are judged on. Are you going to actually blame Joan when your annual review reveals your missed deadlines or goals? No.

Here are a couple things you can do at work to get rid of the garbage that plagues your day:

• Out of office: I don't care if you are using Outlook or Gmail. If you have things to get done, get your "Out of Office' alert activated. I have used this so many times it's sick. Whether you are in off site meetings or doing projects in your office, you can easily come up with an 'Out of Office' message that gets people of your back. "Thanks for the email, I am in off site meetings today, please contact XYZ" or "I am in meeting all day today, please contact XYZ"...you get the drift.


• Custom IM status: Again, I don't care where you are or what you use. If your Instant Messenger application allows for you to create custom statuses, then do it. Instead of setting your presence to "away", set it to "on a project - back tomorrow - contact XYZ for urgent issues". This way you are covered in case something does come up.
  


• Headphones: This one is simple. If your cube-mate won't shut up, toss on some headphones and listen to Run DMC or whatever you want. Chit-Chat kills me and my productivity so listen to whatever you want to drown them out.


• Go to Chipotle: Ok, I love Chipotle so I had to mention them. However, the key here is to get out of the office. While the clan all heads out together, have lunch alone if you need to think.
  


• One at a time baby: We are all multi-taskers. Come on, if you aren't multi tasking in someway you are probably not hitting all of the goals on your review. The key, and I say this knowing that it's damn near impossible, is to finish every task you can in one stroke. Having action items pertaining to 20 different tasks will inevitably lead to 'something' being missed. Touch a task once if at all possible. Get it done, and discard.
  


• Skip calls: I have never been called on this but a ringing phone does not mean it's a concern to you. Let the phone ring and let people leave voice mails. Interupting the flow you have on a current project will most likely kill your productivity, especially if it's Joan asking why you aren't done yet. If you have a 'send call' feature on your phone, use it.


• The Bathroom: Ok, we all have to go right? Well guess what..every time I go to the bathroom at work there are 3-4 guys sitting there chatting. Be cordial but do what you have to do and move on. Get a beer after work if you want to be social but if you want to get ahead at work, chatting in the hallway is not a good idea.


• Media: I am not going to lie, this one kills me. I am a fiend for information and I always want to know what the latest news is. No, I am not talking about Iraq or world news, I am talking about Digg and other social tech sites. While at lunch, I give myself 30 minutes to look at this stuff. If I don't limit it, I will literally surf all day. I think the key here is to allow yourself some free time but to know your limits. Visiting Digg while I eat my homemade Ham sandwich probably boosts my productivity because it gives be a little break from the BS.


• Go Nuclear: Read 5 Strategies To Web Work Without Distractions by Web Worker Daily. This article shares how you can effectively unplug entirely. If you need a nuclear option, this is it.

What do you guys do to get rid of distractions at work? In all honesty, this plagues everyone so by adding you solutions you will be helping other DLM readers and actually, you'll be helping me too.

- Jay White