Have a strategy for Interruptions

Kishore C.S. (June 2002)

Interruptions during day are inevitable. Develop a strategy for the same.

Action items:

How do you handle unexpected phone calls when you are doing something important?
How do you handle growing number of unread e-mails in your inbox when you are doing something important?
How do you handle unexpected visits to your office when you are doing something important?

Everyone faces interruptions in the work. One of the most difficult challenge in time management is handling these interruptions. There are two types of interruptions.

Interruptions are not something we have to avoid, we have to tackle them effectively. Prioritize interruptions, sort them, arrange them and tackle them. 

Intrusive interruptions: Instances where you have to stop whatever you are doing. Example: Someone dropping by in your office to have a discussion.

Non-intrusive interruptions: Instances where you have a choice whether you can decide how to handle the interruptions. Example: Reading e-mails as they arrive, Post-it notes with reminders, Phone calls.

Develop your own strategy for handling interruptions something similar to the following

E-Mail has become most popular ways of communications. This acts a reminder system, task management system and every thing else. It is very common for us to say, drop me e-mail and I will get in touch with you.

You want to get even small information, sending e-mail and waiting for the other person to respond at his convenience is better than calling him over phone and not finding him. E-mail has become a more reliable communication than any other means.

Take control of your inbox by developing your own e-mail handling techniques.

Similarly how you respond to personal interruptions is left to you. When you receive a phone call you have option of ignoring that if you are very busy with high priority task Or take the call the inform the other person to call after a certain time.

If you are interrupted by someone in your office when you are in middle of something, tell them that you will get back to them and check with them if the matter can wait for some more time.

If you are the person interrupting someone else, check with the other person whether you are interrupting them and whether you should come back after some time.

In this manner by developing your own methods of handling interruptions, you can take control of interruptions (since you can't avoid them) and improve your effectiveness.

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