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How to Minimize Interruptions When You’re Working: "
Have you ever been right in the middle of something – a complicated email, a tricky paragraph of a report, a hunt for some vital figures – only for your concentration to be shattered?
Maybe your work day seems to be a string of interruptions. Maybe your colleagues want to chat constantly, or people keep phoning with trivial issues, or your housemates can’t understand that you want to be left alone to work on a college assignment.
You’ll never be able to eliminate interruptions altogether – but you can do a lot to minimize them.
Have you ever been right in the middle of something – a complicated email, a tricky paragraph of a report, a hunt for some vital figures – only for your concentration to be shattered?
Maybe your work day seems to be a string of interruptions. Maybe your colleagues want to chat constantly, or people keep phoning with trivial issues, or your housemates can’t understand that you want to be left alone to work on a college assignment.
You’ll never be able to eliminate interruptions altogether – but you can do a lot to minimize them.
Here’s how:
- Look Unavailable
If you have an office with a door, keep it shut when you don’t want interrupting. It’s a simple visual cue to would-be visitors – and you’ll also keep out any noise from passers-by. If you’re working at home, ask your family or flatmates to avoid interrupting you when the door is closed.
Of course, you might not have a whole room of your own to work in. Try wearing headphones (even if you don’t have any music playing) – this often makes people think twice about interrupting you. If you’ve got a hands-free headset, you could even pretend to be on the phone while working. - Let People Know You’re Busy
I know this seems obvious, but how often do you actually tell people that you want some uninterrupted time? At home, this might mean explaining to your partner and/or kids that you’re going to be working on your novel for an hour.
At work, get in the habit of telling potential interrupters, “I’m right in the middle of something. Can I get back to you in fifteen minutes?” Chances are, they’ll be happy to wait – and they may well go and find some other solution which doesn’t involve waiting for you! - Set an Example
If you want other people to respect your time, be respectful of theirs. Try not to interrupt colleagues – and when you do need to have a conversation with someone, start off with “Is this a good time?” If you can see their calender, heck, use that an schedule 30 minutes at some point later in the day. Don’t use work time to chat, unless you want your colleagues to assume that you’ll always be happy to stop what you’re doing to listen to the latest office gossip.
You might find that several colleagues (or other people in your household) are getting frustrated by interruptions. If so, look for some way to make things easier for everyone – perhaps by spending the mornings on focused work, and encouraging more discussion and collaboration in the afternoons. - Don’t Answer Calls and Emails Straight Away
Most of the interruptions in your day probably don’t come from colleagues or housemates who drop by your desk. They come from people phoning or emailing.
Unless you work in a job which requires it, there’s no rule which says that you need to answer your phone as soon as it rings. Further, just because they call it 'Instant Messaging', you don't have to respond this instant! You can let it go to voicemail and you can let your chat window blink for a bit. You can switch off your mobile, too.
The same goes for emails: you don’t have to leave your inbox constantly open. You’ll work much more efficiently if you process emails in batches, rather than trying to deal with them as soon as they come in. - Work Early/Late in the Day
This is a bit of a radical step, but worth considering. Can you shift your working hours so that you avoid interruptions for at least part of the day?
If you get into the office at 7am, for instance, you’ll have at least an hour or two to work before most of your colleagues arrive. If you stay up late at home and write your essays after the kids are in bed, you’re much less likely to be interrupting than if you try to work on Saturday afternoons.
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By Eileen McDargh
Even Joe the Pipefitter must look askance at some of the moves made in corporate America when faced with a string of bad news. (Sorry... I just can't use "Joe the Plumber", a guy who didn't pay his taxes, isn't certified as a plumber, and has tried to
cash in on his 15 seconds of fame which - amazingly McGraw Hill has turned into a book while making great authors wait for a contract.)
Mistake #1: Become reactive and reactionary.
There is truth in the old saying "Respond in haste. Regret in sorrow." This is also known as the "ready, fire, aim" approach
of leadership. When leaders fail to gather the information and critically assess the long-term impact of decisions, severe
errors are made. Consider the Big Three auto executives who knee-jerked their way on private planes to ask for a handout
without ever having a plan. Now that's a bonehead mistake.
First, stop any action and breathe. Think long-term strategy. Be cautious. Be proactive. Test out the decisions by saying, "If
this... then this..." so you can try it on for size.
Mistake #2: Huddle with only the corporate folks.
First, answers are often found at the floor level, not at the ceiling. Involve everyone in the search for efficiencies and
innovations. Engage everyone in a common vision and mission. Besides, if managers tell employees what to do, you've taken
away all sense of responsibility and ownership. How refreshing to have the Obama team now posting discussions on the internet and seeking input from a variety of people with differing viewpoints. Building transparency goes a long way for building trust and making us all feel we are part of the solution.
Mistake #3: Cut. Cut. Cut.
No one EVER downsized their way to greatness. Wholesale termination of employees without thinking about the cost of
underserved customers and too much work done by too few people or canceling the meeting without realizing that this is the time TO GATHER and candidly talk are just two examples of cuts that could have been done with a scalpel instead of a hacksaw. Substitute Jello for Jamoca Fudge and Two Buck Chuck for Dom Perignon but bring people together.
As for layoffs, if your organization or department can handle this-bring everyone together and spread out the facts. One very
smart leader found that employees were willing to reduce work schedules, work half-time, and job share rather than have
members of their team terminated. For more ideas, read Responsible Restructuring: Creative and Profitable Alternatives
to Layoffs by Wayne Cascio, professor of management at the University of Colorado-Denver Business School.
Mistake #4: Go after new clients and customers.
Unless your current customers have vanished because of poor quality or service, these can be your best source of new
revenue. Ask how you can turn them into champions of what you provide. Make them feel special and valuable. I've noticed that my bank is now making every effort to thank me for my business, to call me by name, to answer any request with a "no problem" attitude. Sure, they should have been doing that all along but-better late than never. Besides, they've already got all my money in the safe. I think they'd like to keep it.
Mistake #5: Do more with less.
We've been hearing this for years. In my consulting practice, I have often found that much of the "more" is work that provides
no value at the end of the day. Scrutinize every process; get rid of the sacred cows and the egos. Translate every action into a dollar value. In one organization, we found that senior executives were tripping over each other to put their two cents
into every PowerPoint presentation that was made. It was a waste of executive talent, made each project longer than necessary, disempowered the employee creating the presentation, and actually used up some $15,000 worth of senior management time!
BONUS Mistake: Buy into pessimism.
It's a huge mistake we ALL make when we let the news of the day finds us hiding under the covers, chopping up the furniture for kindling and searching for recipes made with bread and water. What we have here is an opportunity to really consider what is most important, to spend time at work that is meaningful, and to nurture relationships that matter. We have an opportunity to reclaim our reputation, our integrity, and our future. Not to do this would be our biggest mistake.
To condense the wisdom of a Hopi Elder, "This is the Eleventh Hour...and we are the ones we've been waiting for."
Even Joe the Pipefitter must look askance at some of the moves made in corporate America when faced with a string of bad news. (Sorry... I just can't use "Joe the Plumber", a guy who didn't pay his taxes, isn't certified as a plumber, and has tried to
cash in on his 15 seconds of fame which - amazingly McGraw Hill has turned into a book while making great authors wait for a contract.)
Mistake #1: Become reactive and reactionary.
There is truth in the old saying "Respond in haste. Regret in sorrow." This is also known as the "ready, fire, aim" approach
of leadership. When leaders fail to gather the information and critically assess the long-term impact of decisions, severe
errors are made. Consider the Big Three auto executives who knee-jerked their way on private planes to ask for a handout
without ever having a plan. Now that's a bonehead mistake.
First, stop any action and breathe. Think long-term strategy. Be cautious. Be proactive. Test out the decisions by saying, "If
this... then this..." so you can try it on for size.
Mistake #2: Huddle with only the corporate folks.
First, answers are often found at the floor level, not at the ceiling. Involve everyone in the search for efficiencies and
innovations. Engage everyone in a common vision and mission. Besides, if managers tell employees what to do, you've taken
away all sense of responsibility and ownership. How refreshing to have the Obama team now posting discussions on the internet and seeking input from a variety of people with differing viewpoints. Building transparency goes a long way for building trust and making us all feel we are part of the solution.
Mistake #3: Cut. Cut. Cut.
No one EVER downsized their way to greatness. Wholesale termination of employees without thinking about the cost of
underserved customers and too much work done by too few people or canceling the meeting without realizing that this is the time TO GATHER and candidly talk are just two examples of cuts that could have been done with a scalpel instead of a hacksaw. Substitute Jello for Jamoca Fudge and Two Buck Chuck for Dom Perignon but bring people together.
As for layoffs, if your organization or department can handle this-bring everyone together and spread out the facts. One very
smart leader found that employees were willing to reduce work schedules, work half-time, and job share rather than have
members of their team terminated. For more ideas, read Responsible Restructuring: Creative and Profitable Alternatives
to Layoffs by Wayne Cascio, professor of management at the University of Colorado-Denver Business School.
Mistake #4: Go after new clients and customers.
Unless your current customers have vanished because of poor quality or service, these can be your best source of new
revenue. Ask how you can turn them into champions of what you provide. Make them feel special and valuable. I've noticed that my bank is now making every effort to thank me for my business, to call me by name, to answer any request with a "no problem" attitude. Sure, they should have been doing that all along but-better late than never. Besides, they've already got all my money in the safe. I think they'd like to keep it.
Mistake #5: Do more with less.
We've been hearing this for years. In my consulting practice, I have often found that much of the "more" is work that provides
no value at the end of the day. Scrutinize every process; get rid of the sacred cows and the egos. Translate every action into a dollar value. In one organization, we found that senior executives were tripping over each other to put their two cents
into every PowerPoint presentation that was made. It was a waste of executive talent, made each project longer than necessary, disempowered the employee creating the presentation, and actually used up some $15,000 worth of senior management time!
BONUS Mistake: Buy into pessimism.
It's a huge mistake we ALL make when we let the news of the day finds us hiding under the covers, chopping up the furniture for kindling and searching for recipes made with bread and water. What we have here is an opportunity to really consider what is most important, to spend time at work that is meaningful, and to nurture relationships that matter. We have an opportunity to reclaim our reputation, our integrity, and our future. Not to do this would be our biggest mistake.
To condense the wisdom of a Hopi Elder, "This is the Eleventh Hour...and we are the ones we've been waiting for."
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| నచ్చితే నలుగురికి చెప్పండి...నచ్చక పొతే వదిలి పడేయండి ....! | ||
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Beautiful Examples of Selective Color Photography: "Selective color is a post-processing technique where most of a photo is converted to black and white, but some parts are left in color. This is usually achieved by using layers and masks in Photoshop. Black and white photography can give very powerful meaning to a photo, but sometimes a bit of color makes it truly outstanding.
The selective color technique emphasizes parts of the photo and draws more attention to the subject. It can turn your plain photo into a real work of art. Here are 50 outstanding examples of such photographs. Enjoy!
"
The selective color technique emphasizes parts of the photo and draws more attention to the subject. It can turn your plain photo into a real work of art. Here are 50 outstanding examples of such photographs. Enjoy!
"
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| నచ్చితే నలుగురికి చెప్పండి...నచ్చక పొతే వదిలి పడేయండి ....! | ||
