Productivity is defined as being effective at bringing about results. You need to stay focused and on-task to get things done in order to be effective. Depending on the task, this can either be very easy or incredibly difficult. One of the biggest obstacles to a productive day is interruptions. Sometimes interruptions are necessary, but often they are a waste of time and energy that can be tough to avoid. Managing interruptions is a great skill to have. It is also one that can help improve your productivity!
Figuring out the best way to manage daily interruptions can be challenging. There is a significant difference between a person who knows how to deal with interruptions and one who gets caught up in them. With some small changes, you can become a person who is effective at managing interruptions and moving past them.
If you learn these tips, you will find that interruptions will become less frequent and less bothersome when they do occur. You will have more time to get things done and will become a more productive person if you learn to manage interruptions.
This post is all about managing interruptions and how managing them will help your productivity soar!
5 Ways Managing Interruptions Can Improve Productivity
Interruptions can distract you from what is really important while also causing frustration. Learning to manage daily interruptions can be a real game changer for your day-to-day. Here are some tips for managing interruptions:
1. Set realistic expectations
2. Block out time to focus
3. Keep track of your interruptions
4. Have routine meetings
5. Learn to say “no”
The Different Types of Interruptions and How to Deal with Each
There are really just a couple of types of interruptions that can derail a current task or potentially have even bigger repercussions. More information on the two types of interruptions is below:
- Important Interruptions: The first type of interruption is the important one. If you are at work, maybe something came up that warrants an immediate priority change. Or if you are at school, maybe a sudden pop quiz during your next class interrupts your plan to study for a different class this week. Whatever it may be, some interruptions really are legitimate and need to be dealt with right away. For these interruptions, there is not much you can do besides take care of what needs to be done. Try not to let these things bother you too much or get in your head because they really are important!
- Time-wasting Interruptions: Next, the other type of interruption is the time-wasting one. Unfortunately, these are probably more common than the other way around. Very often people get bored and just want to chat or get away from their work for a while. I’m sure you have felt this way sometimes as well, but everybody’s times do not always line up. This creates a situation where your time or somebody else’s time is being wasted. These interruptions are frustrating and can be hard to deal with. The tips for managing interruptions in this post will mostly focus on this type.
Why is Productivity Important?
Productivity is the reason why things either do or do not get done. A productive person is on top of things and makes daily progress. A non-productive person is constantly behind and struggles to get anything done.
The reason why productivity is so important is that it is what defines your day-to-day. Again, being productive is the difference between a wasted day and a fulfilling one. Not every day will be productive. There will be days when you have a hard time getting anything done at all. For better or worse, this is normal! The key is to continue trying and to stay motivated!
5 Tips to Help You Manage Interruptions
Learning to manage interruptions will help you prevent interruptions or deal with the ones that do slip through the cracks. Continue reading to learn more!
1. Set realistic expectations
The first tip to help you manage interruptions is to set realistic expectations. The first thing to understand is that there will always be interruptions in your day. It is very rare to have a day where everything goes exactly according to plan and happens without a hitch.
If you can start your day expecting to have a few interruptions, then you will be able to stay more level-headed when things do come up. You can even plan for these interruptions by adding in some buffer time for your day so that you are not really losing any time.
By setting realistic expectations for interruptions throughout the day, you will be able to better navigate those interruptions. They will have a much lower chance of causing problems if you can plan for them!
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2. Block out time to focus
The next tip for managing interruptions is to block out time to focus. The main goal here is to let coworkers or friends know that you are busy at a certain time and cannot take any meetings or talk.
Hopefully, people will respect your boundaries and let you just work or study, but there are options if not! If you are working and use Microsoft Teams or similar, there are tools to block time off. By using these you can craft your calendar in a way that will keep you at your optimal level. If you are a student, you can utilize all the different parts of campus to create focus time. There are always parts of campus where your friends seem to congregate, and there are parts where you can easily be alone. Knowing when to study at each location is important! By switching it up occasionally, you can create blocked-out focus time to study.
Blocking out time in this way helps manage interruptions by mostly blocking them. If you have your time blocked off, the only way people can get to you and interrupt your work is if you choose to let them. Give it a try!
3. Keep track of your interruptions
Another great way to manage interruptions is to keep track of what those interruptions are with a list. By creating a list of what is coming up and taking your attention throughout the day, you will be able to better understand what is taking your attention away. With this understanding, you can better plan for your day, or make changes.
Maybe there is always one friend or coworker who interrupts you multiple times per day. You could talk to that person about their frequency of interrupting you or could set up a regular meeting with that person to get their thoughts out. Either of these changes could help you start to change the frequency at which you are interrupted.
There can be a lot of reasons that you get interrupted throughout the day, but understanding what those are and what changes you need to make is a great first step toward making a change!
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4. Have routine meetings
The next way to manage your interruptions is by setting routine meetings. With regular meetings, people know when you are and are not available. By doing this, you are setting defined times when people know you are available. Most people will hold on to their comments and wait until a meeting to come talk to you instead of interrupting you multiple times in a day.
This is a great change to make and will help lower the amount of interruptions you experience. The meetings do not even need to be that frequent. Just a couple of well-defined opportunities to chat per week can do the trick!
5. Learn to say “no”
The last tip for now on how to manage interruptions is to learn how to say no. Sometimes you make all the changes you can, and you still are being interrupted. Nothing you do seems to work, and you just can’t get your work done. The best way to fix this situation is to start saying no.
If a person comes in to ask you to take a look at their work, tell them you can take a look later. Or if your coworkers want to go for a long lunch explain to them that today is not a good day. It can be hard, but saying no is the best way you can avoid any potential interruptions.
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I hope you better understand how to manage interruptions and have learned some great tips! Be sure to reach out to ourteam@wellroundedyou.com if you have any comments or questions!
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