Revealed! Three ways to deal with office interruptions
April 30, 2008
You’re sitting at your desk feeling motivated and enthusiastic, ready to work on The Big Project. Your favorite “productivity music” is playing quietly in the background.
Just then, someone walks in and issues a request. Then the phone rings, and you’ve been summoned to another office (or building).
As you walk to your impromptu appointment, you’re asked to remember a dozen additional requests. It’s easy to feel like you’ll never make any progress on The Big Project.
However, it’s possible to capture these requests, reassure the people who need you and focus on what you’re doing. Here are three things I do to manage these interruptions without getting derailed from the task at hand.
1. Capture and continue.
I keep a stack of white, 3×5 index cards in a drawer and a manila envelope on my desk. When someone enters my office or calls to make a request, I put any papers related to what I’m doing into the envelope and push it aside. Next, I grab an index card and write down the new request, as well as the date and time.
The card then goes into my plastic inbox, the papers are taken out of the envelope and I resume what I was doing. That way, I’ve captured the request, so I needn’t burden my mind with the task of remembering it, and I can pick up where I left off. When I process my inbox at the end of the day, I’ll see the request and act on it.
2. The “But I need it now” guy.
You know this guy. His request is so urgent that you must drop what you’re doing attend to it. He’s usually trying to do something very important, like buy a fish tank off of Craigslist. You could succumb to his whining and fix the issue — resentfully — or try this.
I say, “I understand that this is important, and I want to get it right. I’m busy right now, so why don’t we schedule 10 minutes later in the day when we can talk about it?” It works like a charm; I get to continue what I was doing, and Captain Patience is assured that I’ll give his concern my full attention.
3. Close your door and keep it closed.
This one might seem harsh, but it’s certainly the most effective.
Recently, I was working on a big project in Filemaker Pro. I had to create lots of complicated scripts from scratch, and that required maximum brain power. In short, I couldn’t afford to be derailed by anything short of an emergency. So, I took to closing my door.
This certainly sends a signal: Don’t bother me. It’s not anti-social behavior, but a request to your co-workers that says, “I need to work in solitude right now.” Most of them will respect your wishes.
Some will not, thinking, “Oh, he won’t mind if it’s me.” To this person I say, “Thanks for telling me about this, but I must concentrate on what I’m doing right now. Please leave a note in my box or send me and email, and I’ll take a look later in the day.”
Again, I get to continue my work, my co-worker is reassured and I’ve demonstrated that I “mean what I say.” When the door is closed, I’m unavailable.
I hope you found this useful. Now, go and be productive! And tell Captain Patience no, you will not drive him to pick up his fish tank.
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I’ve heard that posting a note about your next availability can help.
Practicing a strick info diet (ie put down the massive RSS reader) and create focus and productivity in your e-mail checking can also be extremely helpful.