In Time Management 101 we so far covered Batching (group similar tasks together and complete them in one go) and The Pareto Principle (identify important tasks and stay with them until they are complete). Today we will discuss why learning how to effectively manage interruptions is critical for effective time management.
Interruptions have negative impact on time management for several reasons:
- Interruptions distract from the important tasks you need to complete you identified using the Pareto Principle
- Interruptions violate the task batching principle
- Interruptions potentially lead to time wasting activities
The phone is the most typical source of interruptions. Instead of answering every time it rings allow the call to be routed to an answering machine or voicemail. If something is important the person will call you again. Then go through all the messages and return the necessary calls all in one go.
Another source if interruptions are people who walk-in and just want to waste a bit of time. A colleague of mine had his desk situated near an alley so everyone that entered or wanted to exit the office had to pass by him. As a consequence he would be constantly distracted by all these people who would stop by on their way to the vending machine. Office politics were preventing my colleague from ignoring this people as it would negatively impact his professional image. So he was overloaded, did not have enough time to do everything that was thrown down his way, yet he was also forced to lose at least 30-60 minutes a day in time wasting conversations.
If you find yourself in a similar situation try to move your desk if possible. If this is not an option inform the “invader” that you were just about leaving and do not allow them to hang around your area. You need to interrupt the pattern of them stopping at your desk so it doesn’t become a habit in their daily routine.
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