Why Distractions Make a Team More Productive

There is a belief that you need singular focus to achieve a goal, but studies have shown a welcomed distraction can be beneficial for a team. This matters because it influences how a team is managed since it introduces a roundabout way to achieve business goals more effectively. Why?

Because welcomed distractions can refuel an employee’s energy, helping them be more productive when they get back to work.?Goodbye burnout, boreout, languishing, you name it.?Let’s take a closer look at what defines a 'welcomed distraction' and how it makes a team more productive.

#1: Welcome side hustles

A welcomed distraction could be anything from a side hustle to an art project. Studies show that a digression can be a source of energy if it gives a sense of progress. Hudson Sessions, an Assistant Professor at the Cox School of Business at Southern Methodist University, conducted a study in 2021 that found side hustles make employees more productive in their day jobs because they’re more likely to feel empowered and fulfilled. Another study at Drexel University found that spending just 45 minutes on a creative activity positively impacts your ability and confidence at work. Wrapped up, these studies demonstrate the benefits of giving employees space to be creative outside their day jobs.

Take Google’s ‘20% rule’ as an example. They encourage employees to dedicate 20% of their time working on what they think will most benefit Google, separate from their day job. This has led to breakthroughs, like AdSense and Google News, and it has given space for their employees to feel empowered to be more creative and innovative.

Another example at LinkedIn is InDay, which reserves one Friday a month for employees to take a break and recharge with fun activities, from meditation to art classes. For me, this serves as a friendly reminder that I don't do well in art classes, but I also find that it helps me be more productive when I get back to the grind because it’s given me a mental break.

#2: Introduce deliberate play

In addition to giving space for employees to take on creative projects, managers can instill a practice of deliberate play into their team’s day-to-day roles. The concept of deliberate play is to infuse fun into skill-building, marrying deliberate practice and free play, such as taking a specific skill and creating a game to help employees practice it. This makes trainings more effective and energizes teams, setting you up for a win-win.

For example, sports psychologists in Brazil decided to test the impact of deliberate play and deliberate practice to see which approach improved young players’ basketball intelligence and creativity. Over several months, one group did the standard drills: dribbling, passing, shooting. The other group spent 75% of their training playing games, for example, having a teammate who was allowed to pass but not shoot. At the end, the psychologists tested the two groups, measuring their fluidity on the court, and it was deliberate play—not deliberate practice—that demonstrated significant improvement. Similarly, another study of 898 university students found that playing around more frequently caused a significant reduction in perceived stress levels. Finding ways to infuse deliberate play into a team’s role will help break up the monotony, refueling employees’ energy levels and helping them be more effective in their roles.

#3: Require breaks

Charlie Gilkey , a productivity expert, noted that the US military does short deployments to manage burnout, but we don’t do that in corporate life, which is one of our bigger mistakes. Instead, it’s go, go, GO! Higher targets, bigger aspirations. To manage energy levels, it’s important to build recovery into the performance review as something that is not just encouraged but required to be a top performer.

Some companies do this by offering unlimited vacation time, but studies have shown those policies are ineffective in America because employees feel guilty about it, leading to fewer days off in total. One way to counter that issue is seen at SimpliFlying, a company that requires employees to take a week off every eight weeks. Employees will be docked pay if they respond to an email or Slack message during the week they have off to motivate them to disconnect. Plus, the week rotates across a team, so it ensures coverage when someone is out, making it both manageable for colleagues and guilt-free for individuals.

Another way is by instituting mandatory shutdowns that force employees to take a break. For example, the LinkedIn US offices have a week off in July to encourage people to take a break before starting a new fiscal year. Whatever the policy is, time off should be recognized as part of a job, not a reward for hard work.

#4: Save yourself from yourself

Companies and management can instill a work-life balance culture, but we’ve all worked with someone who emails over the weekends or takes on too many projects, mistaking busy work with impactful work. It’s important to understand your internal drivers that prevent you from shutting off and know how you may be contributing to your own burnout. For example, one of the top mistakes athletes make is skipping recovery days, which often leads to injuries. That has given space for companies, like Whoop, a wearable health and fitness coach, to help athletes recognize that breaks help them perform better. The device measures your recovery level based on several factors, from sleep to training intensity, and lets you know if you are prime for a hard workout or need to take a rest day.

If only they created that to measure work productivity! Top performers can be their own worst enemy, allowing internal drivers—whether it’s an achiever mindset or imposter syndrome—to burn themselves out. It’s important to reflect on and recognize those internal drivers and the impact they have on your energy levels to increase your impact and make work sustainable.

So, what next?

As we hit reset with the New Year, it’s the perfect time to explore ways to introduce ‘welcomed distractions’ into your—and your team’s—routine.?

About Madeline Chan

With over 15 years of experience, I’m a leader who specializes in building programs and teams that scale business impact. I’m also a lifelong student, studying the concept of impact in the workplace, and I’ve created this newsletter to share my experience and learnings as I go. Subscribe today and connect with me on LinkedIn.

[Thoughts and opinions in this newsletter are my own and not of my employer.]