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How to Control Interruptions
and Gain up to 2 hours a day!

James DeSena, CSP

How much time do you lose each day to interruptions? 30 minutes, 1 hour, 2 hours? Are most or these interruptions of value? When you are interrupted, do you find that when you go back to what you were working on it takes almost as long to get back to where you were as it took to do the work originally? If so, all the work you did originally and all the time you invested are wasted. If you are one of the many people who is constantly interrupted, you'll be able to benefit enormously when you control interruptions better using the ideas that follow.

It helps to know that there are three types of interruptions:

1) The social interruption.

2) The untimely interruption.

3) The appropriate interruption.

Knowing the difference between these three and what to do about them will help control them. We won't eliminate interruptions; but we will control them more effectively.

1) The social interruption is the person who drops by to chat - about the weekend, the "game," the "party," etc. The quick solution is to say that you have a deadline for a project, or

other work you must finish and you'll catch up with this person another time. If you are managing your time well, you really will have a deadline and something to complete. So, you are just being honest.

2) The untimely interruption is when you want to speak to the person interrupting you, but not now. You use a similar response to the social interruption, but more structured.

First, if you are in the middle of writing or reading, keep your work posture. Look up with your eyes, don't raise your head. (It sends the first signal that you are reluctant to be interrupted.)

Don't put your pen or pencil down. Don't sit back on your chair. Instead, let the person know you are aware of him or her, that you have a deadline to meet and then propose to see this person when you're done or at the earliest time possible for you.

Most people will accept this alternative. Some will insist that they must see you now. Sometimes they may even get annoyed that you won't see them now. Why? You've always dropped what you were doing before when they interrupted you. Why aren't you now?

The best way to handle these situations is to alert people you normally work with before the next interruption. It gives people a chance to adjust. People resist change. Explain ahead of time that there are certain times you prefer not to be interrupted. Explain why, and whenever possible, show them how it benefits them.

A woman at one of my seminars worked for seven bosses. She told them, "when I have my pink cap on, it's not a good time to interrupt me." The pink cap may not be for you, but how about a traffic cone. That's what one manager told me she did. When I replied that it was a novel idea and asked where she got the cone, she said she'd rather not discuss it.

If you communicate to people whey you're doing something and do it with humor, people are more willing to accept it.

3) The appropriate interruption is when you must speak with the person now. It could be because it affects what you're working on now or because it affects another high value activity that must be handled urgently. (In other words, a crisis).

If you agree to stop what you are doing, get your papers and thoughts organized so when you go back to them you can quickly recapture your thoughts. You should also set up a time frame - how long will it take to resolve this issue? Don't leave it open-ended. Get agreement to the time needed and explain that this way you'll be able to get back to your deadline. Stick to the timeframe. Thank the person for his or her cooperation.

Most interruptions are of the untimely type. Unfortunately, we treat them too often as appropriate.

If someone approached you and asked for $10, would you give it? In most cases, probably not. Why then are we so willing to give 10 minutes of our time? Don't give up on controlling interruptions. Even if you haven't been able to control them before, you will with the methods I've outlined here and the payoff will be that you'll be able to concentrate your efforts and get your work done quicker with better results.

salesleaders.com ©1999, James A. DeSena, CSP
Performance Achievement Systems, Inc. all rights reserved.

Jim DeSena helps growing companies continue to grow.
For free information, call 800-4321-WIN.

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