Chances are…you are losing time and productivity due to distractions at work. And there’s neither time nor energy in the day to waste. We choose to allow distractions to get in our way and it doesn’t have to be that way.

It’s as though the brain contains an attention bucket. Each person has a limited amount of attention available in their bucket. Each activity of the day slowly drains the bucket until we no longer work at our best. It makes sense to be thoughtful about where we spend that precious attention. With a few simple tweaks, we can become skilled in managing distractions so that they don’t punch holes in our attention bucket.

Here are three distractions that exhaust the brain and reduce the energy available for focused, high-quality work.

Cell phones and email that beckon us to respond now. The brain pauses from its thought to attend, even briefly, to every ring, buzz, beep or tweedle-dee-dee of the cell phone. How many times do you stop to pick up the phone just to check the text, tweet or email that just arrived? The email flags that pop up on your laptop are equally distracting. Each glance away from your work to assess the email pokes a hole in your brain bucket and a bit of attention drains away.

Instead…when you need all of your attention, practice turning off the phone ringer and putting it away where you can’t hear the buzzing. It’s not forever – just for the time you need for undivided attention. And for email, consider changing the settings so that the email no longer pops up on the screen. I know – but what if it’s something urgent?! If you are in a profession where that is a legitimate possibility than keep the pop-ups. However, my experience is that most of us assume that the boss wants something now. When in fact, the boss’ expectation for promptness doesn’t mean drop everything and respond this instant. We tend to imagine a higher degree of urgency than is necessary. Have a conversation about email expectations in order not to dribble away your attention on mundane issues.

Offices with noise and constant interaction. While I understand that open-plan offices are popular, they aren’t the best option for work that requires focused attention. Sometimes it’s better to make sure that people have their own section in the office so that they won’t be distracted. Making sure that they have all the office equipment that they need (you can buy office equipment from places like Office Monster) will help people not get so distracted all the time. This is particularly true for those of us who need quiet for thoughtful work. The brain is bombarded with snippets of conversations, ringing-pinging phones, and the sound of copy machines. Each sound punches another tiny hole in your attention bucket. After a time, there is little attention left for key work.

Instead…if it’s not possible to have a quiet office space, try noise-cancelling headphones to provide some distraction-free time. You can develop a visual sign for your space that tactfully tells others that you are working on an important project and not to interrupt for the next hour – unless it’s truly urgent. Frequently, we assume that others require a response now when an hour from now is just fine. Negotiate with co-workers to honor your need for uninterrupted quiet time. Your attention bucket will thank you and the high-quality work that you produce as a result will make others want to try the same approach.

Clutter. Think about the vast amount of information your brain assimilates from visual inputs. A visually pleasing environment like a view of nature can calm the brain. Visual clutter, on the other hand taxes the brain as it constantly sifts through what is important or not. Every stack of paper, pile of sticky notes and remnant from lunch distracts your brain and drains attention. For this reason, if your commercial office is in a state of despair, it might be in your best interest to reach out to a commercial cleaning service such as Green facilities. Commercial office cleaning services can provide recycling solutions to keep excess paperwork and other waste in check. Maybe it is also time to divert to an electronic filing system if you find that you are being distracted by all of the paper files that you have scattered on your desk and around the office. A software company such as FileCenter (FilecenterDMS.com) can help your business to become paperless in a matter of minutes. Not only will it help you easily find and access your files, but it can also stop any further distractions during your workday.

Instead…keep your work space as tidy and attractive as possible. Clear out the clutter before you start working on a big project so that your brain has undivided attention. You may notice that you feel more calm and settled in a clean, organized space. It allows your brain to attend to what you want it to rather than whatever catches its eye.

With a few tweaks in your work processes, you can stop punching holes in your brain’s attention bucket. Instead, direct your attention where you want it. Your brain and career will thank you.