A study of office workers found that they were interrupted every 11 minutes on average. You can’t be interrupted this often and still remain efficient. It may be impossible in your situation to work consistently without interruptions, but here are five things you might consider.
1. Get away from your desk if you need privacy to concentrate. Use a spare office or boardroom for an hour. Other “quiet” areas include the cafeteria (but not at lunch time) or even your car in the parking lot.
2. If you can’t leave your office area once you’re there, can you work at home for the first hour of every day?
3. If not, can a staggered hour (or flexible hour) system help out? Arriving early before most of the employees arrive, and before the outside calls start coming in, can decrease the interruptions. But be sure to leave early as well.
4. Can you reduce interruptions for an hour by taking a late (or early) lunch and work at your desk during the “normal” lunch hours when most people are away?
5. If the above strategies are impossible, can you use the buddy system? Ask another employee to take all your calls for an hour and you can take all his or her calls for an hour in return.
If all else fails, make your “open area” as private as possible by adding screens or plants. Face away from the main traffic flow while you are working. Avoid eye contact with passersby. Hang a sign on one of your partitions that reads “My door is closed”, “Quiet Hour.” ”Be back at 2:00 p.m.”, “Typing Confidential Information”, or whatever. And watch those self-interruptions. Engage the voice mail and stay away from the email while you are working on priority tasks.
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