Limiting interruptions Tutorial

Are you tired of constant interruptions at work? Discover powerful strategies in 'Limiting Interruptions' that can help you regain control and enhance your productivity. Learn how to analyze your interruptions and implement practical solutions to minimize stress. Don't let technology and colleagues disrupt your focus any longer! Dive in for insights on boosting your personal and professional effectiveness.

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Some optimists will say 20 or 40 times.

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Some studies show that we lose around 1.5

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hours of work every day due to interruptions.

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Measuring interruptions is not an exact science,

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but rather something you feel

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and something that causes you a lot of stress.

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Especially for people who tend to monottask,

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those who like to focus intensely on one subject

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before being able to close it and open another file.

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If you're one of those people who,

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after taking 5 seconds to answer a question,

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need 5 minutes to get back into the subject they were working on,

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then this video is crucial for you.

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You will save time and more importantly you will lower your levels of stress.

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Being constantly interrupted during work time is the

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highest stress factor for 74% of employees.

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According to some researchers at the University of.

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California,

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emails are responsible for most disruptions.

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An employee is interrupted within a time frame ranging between 2

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and 8 minutes.

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It's basically like Chinese water torture,

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says author Thierry Venin.

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Before studying how to limit interruptions,

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I urge you to set up a diagnosis for your interruptions.

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Analyze your interruptions over the duration of a week.

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Write down the dates and times of interruption.

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The people who interrupt you,

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the media,

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was it a conversation,

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a phone call,

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an email,

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or social media?

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The reasons why these people contacted you and the nature of this interruption,

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is it admissible,

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justifiable,

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or not?

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How urgent was the purpose of this interruption?

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Could it wait?

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Of course,

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write down all interruptions caused by various electronic devices.

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The pop-up notification on your screen when you receive a new message

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on social media or a new email or a news flash,

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etc.

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you will surely find out

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that most of the time if we get interrupted,

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it's because we are willing to be.

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It's because we've opened the way for interruptions,

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whether it is by a human showing up in our office,

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a phone call that we choose to answer,

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or an email that we choose to open.

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The good news is we are not the victim of interruptions.

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We can in fact prevent a vast majority of them

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and free ourselves from the stress that they induce.

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If we come to the conclusion

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that enough is enough and we wish to be interrupted less,

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or let's be honest,

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that we wish to stop interrupting ourselves less often,

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then here are a few tips first.

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Learn to control technological interruptions.

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How?

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By deciding to put technology at our service and not the other way round.

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All our electronic devices are here to make our lives easier.

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And they have a great ability to serve us with more ease and comfort.

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However,

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our devices are not here to take over our lives.

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Sometimes it feels like our phone is whistling at us

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and that we go to it as soon as it does.

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A pop up,

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a notification,

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and we reach for our phone.

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I read

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that the brain secretes the same hormones when we constantly

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check our emails as when we have a gambling addiction,

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an addiction,

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a dependency.

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Our smartphone whistles at us,

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the phone rings,

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an email is received,

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and we

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choose deliberately to interrupt our work.

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Smartphone users check their device every 7.5 minutes on average.

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So what are the solutions for these countless technological interruptions?

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Delete some apps,

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disable some notifications,

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put your phone on silent for at least an hour of work,

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or if for a meeting.

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Unplug your landline,

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set up 3.

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Specific times per day to check your messages.

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Facebook has recently launched a news feed eradicator app.

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Your newsfeed,

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which you used to be addicted to,

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will now be replaced by inspiring quotes.

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Another tip could be placing your smartphone or anything that

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could distract or interrupt you 20 seconds away from you.

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The law of minimal effort

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makes us less tempted to get up,

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grab our phone,

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and turn it on

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than if it were at arm's reach.

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Another tip

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to be less dependent on your smartphone.

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Allow it to run out of battery completely

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before plugging it back in.

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This gives you the luxury and the danger,

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or even the freedom of temporary disconnection.

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We saw that the biggest source of interruption was technology.

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Nevertheless,

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our human peers are also for many co-conspirators in our

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interruptions when they physically come up to us and say,

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got a minute.

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Here are some tips on how to

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better handle these occasional or recurrent disruptors.

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Tip one,

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set your rules.

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Demand that no general questions be asked aloud

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to whoever can hear in the open space.

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Let people know the slots during which you do not wish to be disturbed,

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for example,

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between 11:00 a.m. and 12 noon,

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total blackout.

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Tell your colleagues in the open space

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that when you have your headphones on,

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you don't want to be disturbed.

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In short,

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set rules and inform those around you about them.

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Tip 2.

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Isolate yourself when necessary.

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Negotiate one telecommuting day per week to make progress

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on important files that require a lot of concentration.

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Isolate yourself in a vacant office or meeting room reserved

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just for you in order to finish an important file.

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Tip 3,

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Group your interaction times.

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Organize stand up meetings on common topics.

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Make all your phone calls successively.

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Answer your emails in a fixed time slot.

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Schedule regular appointments with your regular contacts.

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They will gather their questions and information and will

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not have to disturb you all the time.

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Tip 4,

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adapt your schedule so as to set the risks of interruption.

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Come to work earlier or stay later if possible when

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the office is empty and the calls have stopped.

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Dive into your priorities as soon as you clock in

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in the morning while everyone is still checking their emails.

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They will leave you alone,

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then later you can check your emails.

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My 5th tip

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concerns the optimal course of an interruption.

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Picture someone coming to you and saying,

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Can I talk to you?

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It'll only take 5 minutes.

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It's hard to say no,

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but you can always say

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I have to finish this first,

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then I'm all yours in around 45 minutes' time.

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If you choose to half open the way to a person interrupting you,

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do it with a smile.

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If it's too much of a hassle,

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it's better to say from the start,

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I'm not available right now.

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I'll call you back as soon as I can.

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Yes,

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even to your boss.

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After the friendly greetings,

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qualify your disruptor's request.

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Don't offer them a seat,

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not yet.

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Or better yet,

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if you don't want them to sit next to you,

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stand up,

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even if they say,

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no,

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no,

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don't trouble yourself,

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it's only 5 minutes,

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stand up.

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They will feel that you are not offering them all of your time.

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So

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we were saying qualify your disruptor's request.

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What is the object of their request?

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How much time will you need to fulfill it?

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Go straight to the point with this qualification.

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Focus on the object

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and the time required.

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Now that you know what it's about,

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you have 3 options according to your availability.

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Case one,

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I'm available and I'm willing to respond to your request.

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I do not need any preparation.

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Reply with,

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OK,

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I have 5 minutes.

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No overruns,

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and as soon as the time is up and you start feeling it's time to cut it short,

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you can sit back at your desk and get back to your computer,

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or you can pick up the phone

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and say that you have a phone call to make.

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Case two,

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I am willing to respond to this request,

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but I'm not available,

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or I need to prepare for it.

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Reply with

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when is the latest deadline for this issue to be solved and make an appointment,

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a quick one if the issue is urgent.

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If you think that the person can deal with this issue on their own,

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you can set an appointment with some delay.

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They will certainly find solutions before then.

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Case 3.

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If you cannot or do not wish to respond to their request,

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reply with,

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it's not going to be possible for me.

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You could possibly ask them who can help you

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or point them to a better suited colleague.

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So

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we saw that the best ways to deal with

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interruptions by taking back control over our time,

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our time with technology,

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and our time with our colleagues.

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To be interrupted or not be interrupted,

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the choice is yours.

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