Are you constantly interrupted at work and losing productivity because of it? Jason Hartman knows how important productivity is for wealth creation. Here are a few ways to cope with interruptions to create a fruitful working day.
Shut the Door
Whether you work at home or in an office environment, if you have a personal office be sure to shut the door. Shutting the door will not only indicate a working and busy status, but can effectively eliminate any distractions happening outside of the office. Make it clear to family members or co-workers that when the door is closed, no distractions are acceptable.
Don’t Take Phone Calls
When you’re in the middle of an important assignment, don’t take any phone calls. Turn the phone on silent and allow the voicemail to take care of it. This makes it possible to screen the calls, and if anything vital comes in, you can always call the person back when you’re not in the middle of an important assignment.
Don’t Check E-mail
E-mail can be a killer of productivity. Wait until you’ve completed at least some of the important stuff before checking e-mail, as it’s easy to get sidetracked replying to a string of non-essential e-mail messages.
Shorten the Conversation with Body Language
When someone interrupts you, take in their general message, and then cut the conversation short with body language. Indicate how busy you are and let them know when you’re ready to end the conversation by standing up. This will generally change the pace of the conversation and send a message to the other person that it’s time to wrap it up so you can get back to work.
Make it Clear When Your Working Hours Are
When you’re not working in an office, people, particularly friends and family members, can have a difficult time understanding that during working hours you’re at work, and can’t afford to be bothered. Let them know what times you generally work, and ask them not to bother you during said time period. Explain how much work there is to do, and how important it is to get it done without all the interruptions.
Analyze Interruptions
If you find yourself getting interrupted on a nearly constant basis, record when the interruptions most occur, for what reasons, and how urgent the interruptions are. Are these interruptions urgent, or could the person have requested a meeting? More importantly, is the it even business related? If it isn’t, they need to wait until after hours and you’ll have to confront them.
Interested in learning about more productive strategies? Try reading “The Wisdom of Mark Twain: Frogs for Breakfast” for more information. (Top Image: Flickr | UnderminingMe)
The Speaking of Wealth Team
