Productivity Stopper Number One--Interruptions
Minimizing Your Interruptions
One of my biggest interruptions in the day is the phone. My phone rings constantly, and up until recently I felt obligated to answer every call regardless of how busy I was. I found that I was so distracted after a phone call, I had trouble refocusing. It took a while, and then after being unproductive, day after day, to do list growing and growing, I took action. I began screening my calls through the office receptionist and voicemail to minimize my interruptions.
Think about it: the persons on the other end of the line don’t have an appointment to call; they just call. So, why should you drop everything to answer the phone? Having your caller wait for a return call isn’t really so bad. If it’s not a scheduled, expected, emergency or urgent call, then you have the right to place the caller in his or her appropriate place in your hierarchy. If you are used to spending time on the phone with regular and casual callers, you may have to gradually screen their calls so that you can eventually send them to voicemail.
You have work to do, tons of it; and it’s okay to let someone know that although you would love to talk, you just can’t. The same strategies work for e-mail as well. If you create an expectation of urgency for every call, then your caller will expect to be talked to. What I have also found is that most callers don't need to talk to me; they could use the alternatives: asking the administrative assistant the same question, sending me an e-mail (that I might respond to quicker), looking at the company’s website, calling someone else who could probably answer the question better than I can and so on.
The advice in the following articles offers a balanced perspective on dealing with interruptions:
"Handling Interruptions" by Time Thoughts
"Interruptions Are Your #1 Productivity Killer" by Jeffrey J. Mayer of Act News
Reading these made me feel better about prioritizing my day. I hope they do the same for you.
One of my biggest interruptions in the day is the phone. My phone rings constantly, and up until recently I felt obligated to answer every call regardless of how busy I was. I found that I was so distracted after a phone call, I had trouble refocusing. It took a while, and then after being unproductive, day after day, to do list growing and growing, I took action. I began screening my calls through the office receptionist and voicemail to minimize my interruptions.
Think about it: the persons on the other end of the line don’t have an appointment to call; they just call. So, why should you drop everything to answer the phone? Having your caller wait for a return call isn’t really so bad. If it’s not a scheduled, expected, emergency or urgent call, then you have the right to place the caller in his or her appropriate place in your hierarchy. If you are used to spending time on the phone with regular and casual callers, you may have to gradually screen their calls so that you can eventually send them to voicemail.
You have work to do, tons of it; and it’s okay to let someone know that although you would love to talk, you just can’t. The same strategies work for e-mail as well. If you create an expectation of urgency for every call, then your caller will expect to be talked to. What I have also found is that most callers don't need to talk to me; they could use the alternatives: asking the administrative assistant the same question, sending me an e-mail (that I might respond to quicker), looking at the company’s website, calling someone else who could probably answer the question better than I can and so on.
The advice in the following articles offers a balanced perspective on dealing with interruptions:
"Handling Interruptions" by Time Thoughts
"Interruptions Are Your #1 Productivity Killer" by Jeffrey J. Mayer of Act News
Reading these made me feel better about prioritizing my day. I hope they do the same for you.
posted by CTD at
2:18 PM
1 Comments:
Good point! I actually use e-mail a lot. It has really helped with the telephone time. I found myself checking e-mail frequently as well, which too became an interruption. Now, I check e-mail maybe two or three times a day.
By
CTD, at 9:19 PM
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