You Haven't Hit Your Peak Yet!

23Time Management

How to keep time on your side

I had a project I had been trying to write for several days, but too many things kept getting in the way. One interruption after another. All of them important. All of them necessary. But few of them urgent. No one would leave me alone!

Remember the lessons our parents and teachers taught us—interrupting is rude. Somehow, that all changes in the workplace. But should it? Try to remember (if you can) the last time you got through a project from start to finish without being pulled in another direction.

My friend Alan Freitas of Priority Management in Boston says productivity’s number-one enemy is interruptions. He’s offered a few suggestions for dealing with them. I’ve added several of my own. Now my hope for you is that you can get through this uninterrupted.

• Hang out a “Do Not Disturb” sign, and insist that others honor it. Set aside a period of time each day—even if it’s only 10 minutes—when you are unavailable for anything less than a four-alarm fire. That goes for office visitors, telephone calls, email, and carrier pigeons. Trust me, people will think your sign does not apply to them. If that doesn’t work, try coming in to work early or staying late.
• Just say no. It’s up to you to decide whether the task at hand is more important than the subject of the interruption (see the “four-alarm fire” reference above). Schedule time later in the day or week for the interrupter and address that issue—uninterrupted.
• It’s not about ...