Staying motivated on the job is sometimes a struggle, but being aware of your distractions cues and how to deal with them will help keep you focused and productive.

Email is an amazing tool to keep you updated and informed but can also be a major distraction at work which pulls you away from what you need to accomplish. Set up a daily schedule that involves checking email only twice a day instead of every couple of hours and you will get more accomplished and increase your concentration.

Just as email is a distraction, so is the telephone. If you are busy working on a deadline and the phone rings, allow the call to go to voice mail. Do the same thing with phone calls as with email and only check them twice a day. Obviously, if your job involves sales or service calls, this may not be possible for you, since the main focus of your job is the phone.

Keep to a routine or schedule that allows for breaks for lunch and an afternoon walk. Even if you just walk around the office for a few minutes, get up out of your chair and stretch your muscles and your mind.

Use a list for everything you do. Seriously, it helps keep you organized and efficient. My kids refer to me as the "illustrious listress" because I am so systematic about packing for weekends away as well as accomplishing day-to-day work tasks. There is a sense of accomplishment with each list completion even if it takes longer than expected.

Clarify in your mind what it is you need to achieve first and foremost. Then, visualization is a technique that works for many people. Make a collage of something that you really want to accomplish. This may be pictures or a collection of phrases. I did this to help keep me on track while writing a novel and it really helped. If you can see what you want to achieve, even in a figurative sense, you can focus your energies more single-mindedly on the goal.

Reward yourself for a job well done. When you get that big account you have been working on or finish that tedious project by the date required, do something fun for yourself. Have a spa treatment or buy a new book or magazine. Even little things keep us motivated when we use them for positive reinforcement.