| For the past two weeks, we've talked about how to deal with interruptions intellectually and physically.
With regard to intellect, we must analyze the interruptions in our work lives, judging by two criteria: importance and urgency.
Physically, we deal with actual, tangible people in our traditional offices (employees, colleagues, etc.) and home offices (children, significant others, neighbors). In the former case, we're dealing with (alleged) adults who, if they paid attention, would realize they were interrupting our workflow and would tread lightly. In the latter case, we're dealing with those who are less likely to either realize the importance of our work or consider our home office environments as extensions of home rather than true workplaces.
But there's a third type of interruption that occurs in both traditional offices and home offices, but by interrupters who are the least likely to realize the impact of their interruptions: the people who aren't physically aware of your actual surroundings or work flow because they're not there!
Imagine yourself humming along, writing your blog or trying to design a presentation, when the phone rings or the email or IM dings. If you tend to give in to the Pavlovian response—bell rings, you perk up—then you need to reconsider your approach. There's a reason you're working—you're trying to focus on the business goals you've set for yourself, whether they involve generation of revenue, marketing or administration.
So, how will you maintain control over (and limit the impact of) electronic interruptions?
1) Set the ground rules make sure people know when you are, and are not, available, and also what are the best ways to reach you.
You may recall that I suggested in my last post that you should schedule office hours as professors do, times when you will be available to converse. There's no reason why you can't post these office hours and make them available so that people know when to find you "in". If you tend to be "out in the field" in the mornings, or, if like me, you tend not to be awake before 9 a.m., let clients and others know that you will be available between 10a and 3p.
Similarly, you might say that you are with clients during the day, and are only available to return phone calls between 8 and 9:30a and 4:30 and 6 p.m., but that you are able to reply to emails around the clock (or, whenever applicable, per your schedule) and encourage people to email you, or to state their questions/issues on your voicemail and let you know if it's OK to reply via email.
Have a FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) so that others know when you can be reached by phone and/or when you will be returning calls. Post this FAQ anywhere that's necessary: on your door if people ignore your closed door, on your outgoing phone message, on your web site, as an insert with your bills or mailings, in your print or electronic newsletters. If you can generally control your schedule to the point that you are typically available for office hours (unexpected calls), do so.
2) Schedule phone conversations. Perhaps this may seem too regimented, to schedule appointments for people to talk to you, but it actually allows you to have control over your schedule (and the elimination of interruptions), and it also ensures your prospective interrupters that if they do leave you a message, you won't be interrupting them with your return call. It's a win-win scenario.
I estimate 70% or more of my business conversations are scheduled. Whenever I receive an email inquiry about my services, for example, I send an introductory letter in which the final paragraph suggests two alternative days and times to chat, and encourages the recipient to offer his or her own alternatives. My writing couches the implication that out of respect for their time (and my own), to prevent interruptions (of them by me, of me by them, or of our mutual meeting by third parties), a scheduled session anticipates all practical time issues.
This also trains my prospective clients not to think that I'm available whenever, wherever, and however they need. I always want to serve their needs, but if I am distracted or focused otherwise, I cannot serve them well. Conversely, if I'm ready and prepared, my time with them is focused solely on them.
Of course, preparation doesn't eliminate difficulties. Telling people when you're available and trying to schedule phone conversations doesn't discourage all interruptions.
3) Turn off your ringer on your phone (and turn off the alert sounds that notify you when you have new email or instant messages).
4) Close your instant message software during times you do not want to be reached. Listing your status as "unavailable" is not enough, because you may be distracted by the blinking status of other "friends" as they arrive and depart the IM buddy list.
Close it! People can still leave you messages when you are not logged in, enabling you to "pick them up" when you restart your instant message software. It's just like picking up voicemail messages or calling in to ask your assistant for messages.
If someone catches you in a lengthy instant message conversation, type "Oops, that's my 11:15 client. I have to go. Email me if you've got more to say on the subject, and I'll get back to you later." Most people won't bother taking the piffle of instant messaging into a more labor-intensive email environment, and you'll be free.
Items 3 and 4 allow you to control when and how you can be contacted while allowing everyone the opportunity to communicate the message to you.
I'm certainly not saying to keep your phone ringer off all day long. But there's no reason why you can't turn it off and let messages go to voicemail for the first 45 minutes of every hour; that's about the normal attention span for the average person to concentrate on any project. At the end of the hour, check messages.
This doesn't mean you have to return all calls that have come in during the prior hour. During the past week, I turned off my ringer and worked on some writing projects for two hours. When I checked messages, one call requested (and deserved) a call back within a narrow time frame; the rest either needed no response (did all the presidential candidates call you, too?) or were easily solved with quickly typed email answers.
5) Experiment with when you return calls. There's no reason to return all messages immediately after you've picked them up, even if you have delayed receipt for an hour or a few. I'm not saying you shouldn't be responsive; nobody should wait days to return a phone message. (Good etiquette assumes all calls should be returned by no later than the end of the next business day.) But think about when's the best time to return calls that neither interrupt your day or the workflow of original caller.
What time frames grant you the best focus? Return messages at the times appropriate to the subject as well as the recipient. If, for example, you need to return a phone call which will involve brainstorming and problem-solving, return the call when your brain is in prime "thinking" mode, rather than in the low-energy malaise many of us suffer right after lunch.
If you have to return a call with a quick answer for someone who is chatty, call when you know the other person will be out, such as during the lunch hour or after hours. You'll have provided the information they requested without indulging in a gabfest you know will crash your plans.
6) Experiment with the language you use when being interrupted and when calling someone else. Practice saying things like:
"Oh, it's so good to hear from you, but I have a client here (or on the other line, or calling back in six minutes). Is this something for which I can give you a quick answer, or should we schedule a good time for me to call you back?"
(BTW, "six minutes" or any other odd time measurement makes it clear you're serious about staying on schedule!)
When a call goes too long, consider:
"Goodness, it's already 2:25p. I didn't mean to keep you on the phone so long, and I've got to walk out the door right now to make my next appointment. Are we all set, or should I check back with you via email tomorrow morning to see how things turned out?"
Obviously the language you use has to be in your own style, but this should serve the same function as the "blocking" body language and arrangement of furniture I described for limiting in-person interruptions last week.
7) Have a gatekeeper. Some of us work in professions or with target clients who might find voicemail off-putting; if you are a mental health professional or deal with the elderly, this might be the case.
If your clientele is likely to find it uncomfortable to leave voicemail or send email, consider using a virtual assistant who can serve as an answering service. Sure, it's a more expensive option than voicemail (or email, or instant messaging), but if you feel strongly that many of your prospective or actual clients might be lost if they couldn't directly reach you, make use of the charmingly and delightful virtual professionals who can let your callers feel appreciated.
What about the rest of us? What if our target audience isn't technology-averse, aged, delicate or otherwise in possession of a good reason not to leave voicemail. Perhaps you're wondering, "What if that ringing phone is a prospect and I’m not able to answer the phone?"
Well, so what? Ask yourself, do you answer your office phone when you aren't in your office? Do you forward calls to your cell so that you are available 24/7? Do you answer the phone when you are driving, whether or not it's legal in your state? Do you answer your phone when you are already on another line? Do you answer your phone when you're working with a client?
If you already concede that you're not always available to callers, it's not a stretch that you get to decide under what conditions you are, or are not, available. If you don't interrupt client coaching sessions or customer meetings to take calls, isn't it equally valid not to take calls during your marketing, strategic planning or product-generation (i.e., writing) appointments with yourself? If you don't respect your time, who will?
If you desperately fear that by not answering the phone each time it rings, you will lose out on clients forever, I can only ask you to consider if these are the types of clients you want, those who demand your availability upon each and every whim? If a prospect (or an actual client) cannot wait until the end of the hour, perhaps they are not the ideal clients for you. (But that's an issue to discuss with your business coach.)
8) Route your email to specific pathways. Sometimes, even if we've turned off the alerts, we can't help noticing that new emails have arrived in our inboxes, and we interrupt ourselves. Ouch—an interruption that leads to marginalized self-discipline: a double-whammy!
If you subscribe to lots of newsletters and receive chatty personal emails, business inquiries and committee project notices all in one inbox, learn how to set up "rules" in your email software program to route the emails to specific subfolders. For example, I route all business newsletters to one email sub-folder and read them just after lunchtime, when my energy flow is low. Collected in one place, it's easier to zip through them and I need not worry important client emails will be lost in the chaos of an unmanaged inbox.
9) Stop checking for email and networking groups every five minutes! That's right--stop interrupting yourself!
Some people can handle checking email frequently and it doesn't serve as an interruption. For others, email can be a full time (pre)occupation. If email is a distraction for you, limit your time for reading and returning emails to specific times during the day, such as mid-morning, right after lunch, mid-afternoon and before you close up for the day, with no more than 10 minutes assigned for reading and quick replies. (Lengthier replies can be scheduled into your workday as part of your networking time.)
Your time is your one entirely non-renewable resource. Take possession, take control, and take time for yourself. When you focus on your personal and business needs, you'll find the clarity of thought to help others with their needs.
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Julie Bestry, Certified Professional Organizer®
Best Results Organizing
"Don't apologize. Organize!"
organize@juliebestry.com
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