Workday Interruptions Can Be a Killer

Those little workday interruptions aren’t just annoying. They cost your company money. You may not be aware of this fact, but the average person takes eight minutes to get back to work after being interrupted. It’s amazing that it take that long to get back to focusing on what you were working on. In other words, if you are interrupted two times an hour at work, you spend a quarter of your day trying to regain your focus. That’s a lot of lost productivity.

To help you achieve maximum effort use these tips.

  • Try to sit away from the office talkers
  • Keep your door closed if you need to concentrate
  • Stay away from the internet/social media.

From Inc. Magazine, “According to a survey by market research firm uSamp, while social media use can encourage coordination among employees, there’s no denying it’s a huge distraction.”

Getting organized is another way to eliminate those little interruptions throughout your workday. You can turn off your cell phone ringer, only attend meetings where you are required, and of course, turn off your cell phone ringer.

The average American spend 55 minutes a day looking for things they know they own, but they can't find. Share on X

In conclusion, if you spend half your waking hours at work, that means you spend almost a half-hour each day being unproductive at work. To learn more read The Top 6 Office Distractions from www.scscincinnati.com.

What are some ways that you cancel out those little interruptions in your day?

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Janet Schiesl

Janet Schiesl

Janet has been organizing since 2005. She is a Certified Professional Organizer and the owner of Basic Organization.

She loves using her background as a space planner to challenge her clients to look at their space differently. She leads the team in large projects and works one-on-one with clients to help the process move quickly and comfortably. Call her crazy, but she loves to work with paper, to purge what is not needed and to create filing systems that work for each individual client.

Janet is a Past Board Member of the National Association of Productivity and Organizing Professionals and a Past President of the Washington DC Chapter of NAPO were she has been named Organizer of the Year and Volunteer of the Year.

Janet Schiesl

Janet Schiesl

Janet has been organizing since 2005. She is a Certified Professional Organizer and the owner of Basic Organization.

She loves using her background as a space planner to challenge her clients to look at their space differently. She leads the team in large projects and works one-on-one with clients to help the process move quickly and comfortably. Call her crazy, but she loves to work with paper, to purge what is not needed and to create filing systems that work for each individual client.

Janet is a Past Board Member of the National Association of Productivity and Organizing Professionals and a Past President of the Washington DC Chapter of NAPO were she has been named Organizer of the Year and Volunteer of the Year.

18 Comments

  1. Janet Barclay on December 30, 2019 at 8:54 am

    And this is exactly why I now schedule most of my phone calls. That way neither party is interrupted.

    • Janet Schiesl on December 30, 2019 at 9:30 am

      I started using a scheduling app recently. I love it for just this reason. No one is interrupted and everyone is prepared for the conversation.

  2. Sara Skillen on December 30, 2019 at 9:15 am

    Interruptions are the worst – and those statistics are troubling. I sometimes use/recommend noise-cancelling headphones (whether actually listening to something or not) to signal to others that it’s not a good time to ask a question or chit chat.

    • Janet Schiesl on December 30, 2019 at 9:34 am

      I like this idea. If I worked in a open office I’d do this. I just got earbuds for Christmas and used them when I went grocery shopping and listened to a couple of podcasts. I find grocery shopping mindless so I was able to focus on the podcast.

  3. Linda Samuels on December 30, 2019 at 10:26 am

    One of the best things I did was to turn off the beeps and dings on my devices. It’s amazing how those sounds can interrupt your thought patterns and focus. By turning them off, it’s easier for me to manage the time I have with the priorities I’ve set. The main thing about interruptions is that they put other people’s priorities over your own. And while that’s OK if it’s intentional and desired, it’s not great to always run like that.

    I agree with Sara that the stats are “troubling.”

    • Janet Schiesl on December 30, 2019 at 2:53 pm

      Yes, I agree about the stats. I have my ringer turned off most of the time on my phone to cause less distraction.

  4. Seana Turner on December 30, 2019 at 10:57 am

    That issue of getting interrupted is a tough one, especially for people who work in a “bull pen” or open-office format. It is also so hard for Moms, who are pretty much interrupted all day long. I work with Moms on this issue, and talk about strategies for dealing with the setting in which they live and work. The public library can sometimes be a super productive place!

    • Janet Schiesl on December 30, 2019 at 2:54 pm

      That’s one reason why people hate the open-office format. I like being able to close a door some I don’t have the interrupts.

    • Janet Barclay on December 31, 2019 at 12:32 pm

      Here’s an interesting article about open-offices:

      • Janet Schiesl on December 31, 2019 at 2:07 pm

        Before I started Basic Organization I worked as a space planner, laying out cubicals in open offices. I’ve seen a lot of crazy things. People hate open offices and I can understand why.

  5. Sabrina Quairoli on December 30, 2019 at 12:29 pm

    I found that for different tasks, I need to do different things to stay uninterrupted. I need absolute quiet and no interruptions when I am focusing on new tasks or learning a new skill. It’s super easy for me to get distracted.

    However, when I am being creative like writing or creating something, classical music helps me work more efficiently and speeds up my process.

    • Janet Schiesl on December 30, 2019 at 2:56 pm

      I switch around too. When I am trying to learn something or read something I need quiet. But I like music while doing other tasks.

  6. Hazel Thornton on December 31, 2019 at 9:32 am

    As I like to say, that’s why God created Caller ID and Voice Mail! (And there are so many more tools now, since I was saying that a lot.)

    • Janet Schiesl on December 31, 2019 at 2:09 pm

      So many tools to manage this, but I think people just don’t use them because of fear of missing out.

  7. Nancy Haworth on December 31, 2019 at 3:12 pm

    Very interesting topic! Yes, 8 minutes to get back on track after a distraction can really hinder productivity. Being in constant communication can certainly make it hard to concentrate. Unexpected texts, phone call, or e-mail alerts often interupt my day, and I’ve found it helpful to use “do not disturb” settings on my devices when I really need to concentrate.

  8. Janet Schiesl on January 1, 2020 at 6:57 am

    I am trying to leave my phone in another room, because I’m not good at just picking it up, even with no notification.

  9. Ronni Eisenberg on January 2, 2020 at 8:15 pm

    Janet,

    Distractions are the worst. I think mostly because it’s so hard to get back on track. And they certainly break down the hard work that’s been put into place.
    It’s shocking to see how much time is lost looking for things and wasting time. Wouldn’t you love to have those minutes, hours back?

    Great piece,
    Ronni

  10. Janet Schiesl on January 3, 2020 at 9:02 am

    Thanks Ronnie.
    Distractions are everywhere, so it take diligence to keep up. Don’t you think?

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