Self Leadership Coaching Blog

Interruptions are one of the most powerful time wasters.

The simple reason is because for each activity that we engage our brain in, we need a period of warm-up (just like in any sport), and then only can we start performing at the peak of our potential.

The problem is that if we get interrupted in the process, we need to go back to the warm-up phase again. And the more we get interrupted, the less chance there is that we ever reach the peak of our brain potential. Therefore we end up wasting precious time.

E.g. When reading a book: if somebody interrupts, you have to read again the least the last few phrases, just to reconnect to the story.
So the basic principle behind preventing interruptions is to make sure you get stretches of uninterrupted time to work continuously on specific tasks, at peak potential of your brain.

Hints:

• Prevent interruptions from walk-in visitors by isolating yourself. Close your door. Put up a sign. Work in a conference room. If you work in an office, take a day to work on important projects at home if necessary.

• If you have an assistant, establish clear guidelines as to what kinds of interruptions are appropriate, so they can screen visitors. The assistant should have the authority to schedule a subsequent meeting, or divert the inquiry to someone else.

• Block off your time for priorities. Handle larger, important projects early in the morning, before you read your e-mail and before interruptions are likely to occur. Schedule a quiet hour to create essential private time.

• Set clear time frames. Inform co-workers or subordinates that you generally like to come in at perhaps 8:00 am, and work on your own until 9:30 am. Only then do you accept meetings.

• Change the layout of your desk so that you’re not facing traffic. Otherwise, you encourage interruptions.

• If you’re storing materials or files that people have to access frequently, move them to another area.

When They Walk In

• If they insist that it’s urgent, establish a clear time frame: ask them how many minutes they need, then agree to that time (or tell them how much time you can give them). This way you have a clear time frame for the discussion and the other will be forced to stick to it.

• Stop people from telling stories. Interrupt them and say, “Can you summarise how I can help you in one sentence?” If they ramble on, say “OK, so how can you sum up what you need from me?”

• If they’re asking for help, ask them what solution they propose? The more you do that, the more you force them to think for themselves. Therefore, after a while they will only come to you with problems they really don’t know how to solve.

But these are just some of the hints that I found most useful in handling interruptions effectively.
And would be happy to hear some more!

So, how do you handle your interruptions?