Self Help

Interruptions are a roadblock to work, but they come all day long in the form of babies, friends, and personal and household emergencies. Life involves learning to accomplish things in spite of interruptions. Don’t wait to organize yourself until all the interruptions are gone.

You have three strategies: (1) work around them, (2) eliminate some, and (3) manage others. When you are stopped for one reason or another, train yourself to go right back to the job you were doing. When the task is well denned, it is easy. For example, if your first housekeeping goal for the day is to clean a bathroom, when an interruption comes, it’s easy to go back to the original chore. Otherwise, you may waste time or risk being sidetracked.

You can learn to work with direction and purpose. Think of how a receptionist at the front desk of an office operates. She takes care of each request as it comes, but goes back to typing a letter whenever she gets a chance. Do not let an imperfect situation be an excuse to do nothing.

Eliminate some of the hassle by taking a good look at your life. If you are really serious about this, keep a log for two days. Make a brief entry of what is happening every fifteen minutes. Efficiency experts do this analysis in businesses to pinpoint time leaks and problem times. Who is the offender? When? Is one time worse than others? What was needed when they interrupted you? With this insight, you can start improvement.

Some interruptions are caused by lack of order: runs to the dryer for socks, trips to the store for forgotten ingredients, or shoe hunts. Devise a way for kids to get their own drinks of water. Install a pet door so your animals can get in and out without your help. As one father has said, “Instead of putting out fires all day, catch the guy with the matches.” A little organization can save a lot of hassle.

Sometimes we interrupt ourselves. Perhaps you are not very dedicated to the task and can be easily distracted. You might think of a phone call that needs to be made, remember to take something out of the freezer, or get an urge for a snack. There is a difference between a break and an interruption. To stop in the middle of a job with an unnecessary interruption is a defeating work habit.

It takes time after each interruption to start up and build momentum again. Next time you are tempted to jump from what you are doing, ask yourself if you could wait a little longer until you finish this project or until you get to a better stopping point. Plan periodic breaks to refresh yourself and take care of such needs. A paid secretary gets “coffee” breaks. You can, too. This is self-control.