Top tips for handling interruptions

One of the biggest gripes in the workplace is interruptions. They cause stress, disruption, and overload from unnecessarily long working hours, which can lead to significant job dissatisfaction. 

On average, 28% of productivity is lost per day, mainly through interruptions of many sorts, including emails - this can add up to as much as 2.25 hours out of an eight-hour workday. 

The knock-on effect of this is that employees are overloaded and end up having to stay late or start early in order to meet deadlines. 

Fortunately, there are successful techniques that people can implement to counter the constant stream of interruptions, as taught by Time Management specialist Robyn Pearce.   

It is one of the most common issues that clients come seeking help for.  “There is nothing more frustrating than being constantly interrupted. Educate your team how to treat you and don’t attend to each interruption immediately – unless of course it’s a crisis. It’s also important to remember to turn off your email notification.”  

Research indicates that, on average, it takes 10 to 20 times the length of the interruption for a person to regain focus on their previous task.  If that’s happening all day long, then it will affect stress levels and increase frustration.

Robyn’s top tips for handling interruptions

1. Switch off the email alert.

2. In your email signature, state that you only check emails a few times a day and suggest recipients phone or text if it’s urgent. 

3. Put your phone on silent and in a drawer when you want to focus or redirect calls to a colleague if you can – even if only for one-hour slots at a time.

4. Block out at least an hour a day when no one interrupts you to focus on high-value activities.

5. If you’re in an open plan office, use headphones to signal you’re busy – and to block out the noise.

6. If possible, use a quiet room or work off-site if you can’t focus at your desk. 

7. If you always drop your work to attend to every interruption, people will expect that all the time, and you’ll never get a clear run at anything.

8. Educate the people around you on how to treat you.

9. Print this off and keep it by your desk as a reminder.