I have been trying to write this column for several days now, but too many things keep getting in the way – one interruption after another, all of them important, all of them necessary.
But few of them urgent. And that’s why my editors are breathing down my neck – no one will leave me alone!
Remember the lessons our parents and teachers taught us? “Interrupting is rude.” Somehow, that’s not enforced in the workplace. But shouldn’t it be? Try to remember (if you can) the last time you got through a project from start to finish without being pulled in another direction.
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My friend Alan Freitas of Priority Management in Boston says productivity’s No. 1 enemy is interruptions. He’s offered a few suggestions for dealing with them. I’ve added several of my own. Now I just hope that you can get through this list uninterrupted:
• Can it wait? Encourage co-workers to consider whether an interruption is really warranted right at the moment. Amazingly, many of those disruptions can be put in e-mail or voicemail to be acted on later, or saved for a scheduled meeting (see below).
• Hang out a “Do Not Disturb” sign, and insist that others honor it. Set aside a period of time each day – even if it’s only 10 minutes – when you are unavailable for anything less than a four-alarm fire. That goes for office visitors, telephone calls, e-mail and carrier pigeons. Be unwavering in this because trust me, people will think your sign does not apply to them. If that doesn’t work, try coming in to work early or staying late.
• Just say no. It’s up to you to decide whether the task at hand is more important than the subject of the interruption (see “four-alarm fire” above). Schedule time later in the day or week for the interrupter and address that issue – uninterrupted.
• It’s not about how many balls you can keep in the air at one time. Superman fights one crime at a time, and finishes the job. Multi-tasking only works when a task gets accomplished. We all have more than one project on our desks. The question is: How many of them will actually get done, on time and satisfactorily?
• Provide a regular meeting time during which key people can “bundle interruptions” into a single meeting. This practice helps people plan ahead and anticipate many of the pesky details they normally wouldn’t have. Naturally, some issues will need to be revisited, but when the expectation is that you come prepared, no one wants to look foolish.
• Be a great listener. Do not interrupt while someone else is talking. Good communication is essential for understanding the issues at hand. This may well prevent unnecessary interruptions later. (“What was that you said earlier?” … and so on.)
• Limit distractions, especially if you have a short attention span. Do not decorate your office with “executive toys” or any other temptations that cause you to lose focus.
• Take a break when you feel yourself zoning out. Walk around. Get a drink of water. Clear your head for a few minutes. Set a limit on how long you’ll be away from your desk, or you will become your own worst interruption.
• Be respectful of your co-workers’ time. If you expect them to honor your “Do Not Disturb” sessions, you must reciprocate.
Getting your staff on board may take some time and gentle reminders, but the results will be worth it. Even if everyone doesn’t buy into the new program, you will still have far fewer distractions.
Now, let me tell you what I consider to be legitimate interruptions: customers. I am never, ever too busy or too absorbed in what I am doing to help a customer. If your business is customer-driven, you shouldn’t be too busy either. Otherwise, you may never be busy again.
L.L. Bean and McDonald’s, two superstars in the customer service arena, share some rules that have become guidelines for many successful companies. One of the cardinal rules reads: “A customer is not an interruption of our work; they are the purpose of it.”
That’s been the rule at Mackay Envelope Company ever since we started looking for business more than 40 years ago. In fact, I have a sign in my office that reads, “Our meeting will not be interrupted … unless a customer calls.”
Mackay’s Moral: You must have a sense of what your time is worth for others to value it.
Harvey Mackay is author of the New York Times best seller “Pushing the Envelope” (Ballantine Books). He can be reached through his Web site: www.mackay.com; or Mackay Envelope Corp., 2100 Elm St., Minneapolis, MN 55414.
