Monday, April 18, 2011

Top 5 Ways to Minimize Interruptions

How can you get your work done if you have constant interruptions? You can't...and it's very frustrating.

You have to practice self-defense when it comes to interruptions. If you don't take steps to minimize them, your time will be wasted and your productivity will suffer.

Studies show that the average worker is interrupted every eight minutes. The same studies reveal that 15% of the interruptions are important, while the remaining 85% are a waste of time.

Telephone calls and e-mail are major culprits, but even worse are the two-legged interrupters: your co-workers.

Here are five tips to minimize those two-legged interruptions and keep you in the productivity fast lane:

1. Stand up when someone enters your workspace....or when they've over-stayed their welcome. When you stand, you send a message that the meeting will either be brief or that it has ended. This works every time. You start moving, they start moving...end of interruption.

2. Never ask "How are you?" when someone stops by your office. This is an open invitation to chat. Do you really want to hear about their gallbladder surgery? Instead, ask "What can I do for you?" This will get you right to the point of the interruption.

3. A bit of creative workspace re-organization goes a long way. If your desk faces the door, turn it so you don't look right into the hallway at everyone who passes. Once they make eye contact, they always stop to chat.
Can you remove your chairs? If not, stack some files on them so the office pest (IE time waster) can't take root for a half hour of blah blah blah. Last, NEVER have a bowl of candy on your desk. Who can resist a handful of M&M's...and a little conversation to go along with them?
4. If you're asked to answer a 'quick question or someone wants 'just a minute' of your time, beware! Your first question should be, "How much time do you need?" If you have the time available, go for it and hold them to the deadline. If you don't have a spare fifteen minutes, schedule an appointment with them later.
Rehearse a few lines like: "I'm sorry but I need to finish this deposition summary in the next hour. Can we talk later?" or "Attorney X is waiting for this research. I can spend some time with you at 2:00 this afternoon." If you use lines like these, you've turned the tables and you're now meeting on your own terms.
5. Urge co-workers to accumulate their questions. They should save all but urgent issues to discuss with you in one chunk of time. It's much more productive to spend twenty minutes discussing five client matters than it is to talk about one client matter for ten minutes every hour.

BONUS TIP: Don't interrupt yourself! Determine the time of day you are most productive (early morning? mid-afternoon?) and make yourself unavailable to the world during that time every day. Shut your door. Turn off anything that might be noisy or distracting. Stock your desk with all the supplies you need to eliminate unnecessary trips to the supply room. Practice what you preach: gather your questions and assignments and interrupt your co-workers only once.

Your challenge: Make a short list of the interruptions you will allow. For all the rest, decide which of today's tips you can implement to minimize them. Once that decision is made, take the necessary steps to curb those interruptions and you'll find yourself on your way to a more productive day.

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2011 Vicki Voisin, Inc. Do you want to use this article in your newsletter, ezine or Web site? You can so long as you include this entire blurb with it:

Vicki Voisin, "The Paralegal Mentor", delivers simple strategies for paralegals and other professionals to create success and satisfaction by achieving goals and determining the direction they will take their careers. Vicki spotlights resources, organizational tips, ethics issues, and other areas of continuing education to help paralegals and others reach their full potential. She publishes a weekly ezine titled Paralegal Strategies and co-hosts The Paralegal Voice, a monthly podcast produced by Legal Talk Network.

More information is available at http://www.paralegalmentor.com/ where new subscribers receive The Paralegal Mentor's 151 Tips for Your Career Success.

2 comments:

The Goodwill Fangirl said...

My favorite button on my office phone is Do Not Disturb. I change my voice mail to say I'll return calls at a certain time, and am better able to concentrate on priority projects, without constantly stopping to answer the phone.

Paralegal Mentor said...

Excellent tip, Lynne. It's smart to let clients know when they can expect a return call. That allows you to return phone calls all at one time so you're not interrupted all day long. Productivity will increase.