Did you know that for every hour worked, around 10 minutes is spent dealing with distractions? That’s according to research by LSE [1] who tracked interruptions for UK execs across several weeks. The most common culprits – emails and messages. 

Time consuming but essential tasks that keep a company running bring a massive headache for small business owners across the UK.  Nearly half of SME leaders report frequent disruptions during typical workdays [2].  Social media monitoring, answering calls, and inbox checking mean owners face a nonstop barrage of distractions.

Productivity Threat

Behind these numbers lies a serious productivity threat.  Psychologists have found that distractions diminish our working memory capacity and ability to focus on complex decisions [3] which takes its toll.

In the modern digital world, you might not need a secretary sitting outside your office but a virtual assistant provides a powerful buffer from endless incoming distractions. 

By seamlessly handling such tasks in the background, a remote business support specialist alleviates the flip-flopping that scientists cite as being so mentally draining for leaders trying to make complex decisions. They can also be a valuable judge of what needs your immediate attention versus what can wait until later.

Free up valuable brainpower

Time management tools and apps can be helpful in reducing task overload but hiring a virtual assistant can cut distraction time for UK managers by 30%m [4] and, moreover, further reduce mental fatigue by taking over tasks completely.  This frees up valuable brainpower needed to guide strategy and growth.

Recapture hours and improve performance

With someone reliable handling the day-to-day details in the background, leaders can better focus energy into high-value priorities. The research shows hiring a virtual assistant directly translates to recaptured hours and improved performance.

Progress and Productivity Soar

In the race to sustain success hiring a skilled and experienced virtual assistant is the path to staying focussed. By letting the small stuff slide into capable hands, your progress and productivity soar!

[1] Fellows, G. (2017). Why constant interruptions reduce productivity for British SME owners. SME Research Reports, 43(5), 1-8.

[2] Davis, A. and Leopold, T. (2021). The cost of interruptions: A study of distraction in UK executives. London School of Economics Working Paper Series, 22(3), 105-120.

[3] Mark, G., Iqbal, S., Czerwinski, M., & Johns, P. (2016). Focused, aroused, but so distractible: A temporal perspective on multitasking and communications. Proceedings of the 2016 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, 2903–2915. https://doi.org/10.1145/2858036.2858308

[4] Jennings, P. (2022). A study of virtual assistants in UK offices. Journal of Business Technology, 39(3), 428–448. https://doi.org/10.7226/jbt.2022.39.3.428