Some attempt is better than no attempt. Maybe you can get away with doing only part of the job and then passing it along to someone else for completion. The key is to physically block out disturbances as much as possible, whether by shutting your door, turning your desk away from passersby, or by asking people to be quiet. Your mind can success- fully tune out a great many signals if you tell it to. Most people say they accomplish more when they work for a long period of time instead of many smaller, disconnected periods.
Paperwork is a necessary evil.
To gain greater control over it, decide what to do with each piece of paper as it comes into your office. Then, get rid of it. The 80-20 rule states that 80 percent of your accomplishments come from only 20 percent of your efforts. The trick is to figure out what makes that 20 percent so productive. Then, devote more of your time to these productive activities, and reduce the time spent on unproductive work.