Today's workplace is filled with constant ''jabs'' via emails, text messages, cell phone calls, instant messages, work phone calls, and intrusive conversations. These interruptions are incessant, imposing, and often inane.

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	Kathleen Alessandro

Recent studies show that workplace interruptions range from once every three minutes to six times per hour. More significant is the fact it usually takes a minimum of five minutes to return to productive work. Let’s do the math. Assume six interruptions an hour and five minutes to return to productive work. Can it be that workplace interruptions are chipping away more than 30 minutes of every hour…half of the workday!?!

Check it out yourself. Keep records for a couple of days of how many times you are interrupted and calculate the average amount of time it takes you to get back on track.

Why Do I Always Run Out Of Time?

Whether you work in a home office, small business, major corporation, or non-profit, you probably get up and go to the “office” daily to conduct activities, create opportunities, and take care of important issues. However, during a typical workday, interruptions significantly impact your workflow. Many of the more popular “time-saving” productivity gadgets and electronic-communication devices help people create offices that are the equivalent of a 24-hour breaking-news center. Emails ping, work phones ring, cell phone ring tones play songs, and instant messages encourage people to share every thought, creating a cacophony of sights and sounds that challenge everyone’s productivity.

This bombardment makes deep thinking and critical analysis nearly impossible. Interruptions, even if they are worthwhile, always require you to reset your thought and work processes…where did you leave off, and what were you doing before you were interrupted?

What Can I Do?

How can you restore order to your workday? Keep in mind that the workplace is a social enterprise where interaction and communication are important. However, it is more important to create an atmosphere where creative, focused, productive communication and activity is nurtured while extraneous, redundant, and inappropriate exchanges and interruptions are limited. Here are a few options to consider.

The 15-Square-Inch Solution

Instead of numerous emails, telephone calls, and walk-by conversations, use a 15-square-inch solution to make your communications more powerful and focused. Consider using 3x5 “capture cards.” Old-fashioned index cards might be the lowest tech-highest impact information-storage-and-retrieval resource ever invented. Keep capture cards at your desk, in your pocket or purse—available at all times. When an idea comes to mind about information you want to remember or share, write it on a capture card and put the colleague’s name or some memory trigger on the top. As you complete cards throughout the day, two things will occur:

1. You will capture quick thoughts, ideas, questions, tasks, etc. in a more organized, focused fashion.
   
   
2. You will be able to group these cards into categories. As you prepare emails, memos, meeting agendas, and project updates, your comments will be more detailed, coherent, organized and effective.

Organize for Key People/Projects

Keep separate hanging files handy for your boss, direct reports, and a few other key people or projects. Drop the capture cards and related materials into the appropriate folders. Instead of interrupting colleagues frequently throughout the day, share a 15-to-20 minute, focused conversation with appropriate information at hand. Ask your coworkers to do the same.

Tame Email

Turn off the email audio-notification system. That “ping” diverts your attention each time you receive an email. Studies show the majority of incoming emails are of little value. Check your email only between projects or tasks. Even better, set reasonable guidelines and times for checking your email throughout the day—otherwise, ignore it. If possible, route electronic newsletters directly to a “casual reading” folder and review at your convenience. Create a file for your supervisor and route all emails from him/her to a folder that you can review periodically. Reduce or eliminate inappropriate emails. If people want to send and you want to receive, humorous, inspirational or other emails, give them your personal email address.

Maximize Your Setup

Regardless of your office setup, here are a few options worth considering: when you need a block of time for deep thinking, reading, and evaluating information, post a “Do Not Disturb” sign where potential visitors can easily see it. If possible, place your desk at a 90-degree angle to the entrance to minimize interruptions as people pass by. Avoid “baiting” your workspace with candy or gadgets that attract people as they pass by.

What About Social Interaction ?

People who love to go from office to office sharing non-work related issues and anecdotes cause many interruptions. It is unreasonable to think you can eliminate all these disruptions. It’s just a normal part of any work environment. Have people put notices of fundraisers, get-well card signings, congratulatory notes, and office social events in a common area such as a break room. Consider putting a whiteboard or bulletin board in the break room for comments and feedback regarding sporting events and other office news. Occasionally, schedule a few minutes at the end of staff meetings for personal or community updates. If you don’t already have one, consider publishing a simple employee newsletter to deal with informal employee news.

What About Manners?

Although we live in an era of casual standards, it is still important to establish office guidelines that promote mutual respect. When walking through the office, assume that people are engaged in work and hold casual conversations to a minimum. Avoid hovering at someone’s office door, hoping he/she will look up and engage in conversation with you. If the person doesn’t acknowledge your presence quickly, move on. Assume that it is appropriate to share personal information only with close friends and at appropriate times. Unless your visitor is the company psychiatrist or psychologist, the correct answer to “How are you doing?” is “Fine, thank you and how are you?” Most people are already plagued with information overload and don’t really care to hear details about your personal problems. They were just trying to be sociable.

What Is The Key?

I’m not suggesting that you cut yourself off from non-work-related interactions with your colleagues. The key is finding the right balance. Interruptions are going to occur in the normal course of a typical day. Remember, you teach what you allow…so make sure you are not enabling behaviors you would rather avoid. Try some of these ideas or develop your own. Find ways to minimize the all too frequent “got-a-minute” interruptions and maximize the opportunity to have a highly productive day.

About the Author

Kathleen Alessandro is a nationally known productivity expert who offers her clients a five-point plan to help deal with email, voice mails, and other business information. She offers public seminars about productivity solutions and works one-on-one with small to medium-sized businesses to better manage business information. To learn more about Energized Solutions, go to www.energized-solutions.com.

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