Do you tend to suffer interruptions at work, and it is difficult for you to finish your work obligations every day? Find out which are the most common and what to do to avoid them.
Many people spend 10-12 hours at work but are not productive enough. For what is this? The factors are many, from not knowing how to manage time correctly, to the accumulation of unnecessary tasks to the damn interruptions at work.
These interruptions are, many times, unavoidable, as some causes are meetings, visits from the boss or urgent emails that must be answered almost immediately. Avoiding all of this will make us much more productive and perform better. As a consequence, the work will be optimal and we will have more time to do other things.
Helpful tips so you don’t get interrupted at work
Know how to prioritize
One of the ways to be more productive and avoid interruptions is to organize. Without it we do not know what is really important to be able to prioritize. If we wait for an email urgently then it is necessary to control or set alerts that tell us when the expected email arrives.
If our priority is to enter social networks and make a meeting, then it should always be done without wasting time. Setting goals and prior planning.
Do the lazy tasks before
Tasks that have a greater difficulty can be done earlier. In this way, we are getting rid of them and we can continue with less important things throughout the day. At the end, we will see how we have progressed much more and we will not have a feeling of stress but of relief.
How to avoid work interruptions
Avoid interruptions on the phone
If the mobile rings, fortunately we can see who is calling us. If we know that it is someone with whom we will be talking for a long time, it is better not to pick it up and leave this conversation for the last hour of the day.
When the call is related to work, then we advise you to avoid endless talks and without substance. Get to the point and solve the problem on the spot. If things drag on, with all the education, we can say that we will call at another time because we are finishing something of absolute priority.
It is highly recommended to disable notifications or put the mobile in airplane mode, and even, in some moments, disconnect the Internet on the computer if one needs it.
Visits and meetings
When you receive visitors, you must also shorten the time. The same happens with meetings. Many are often long and endless. To avoid this, planning is key, knowing what must be said at all times, offering ready-made solutions and replacing problems that can be extended to other moments.
It is also important, just like on the phone, discard requests, meetings and invitations that are not necessary.
Social networks
We live in a world full of messages and notifications (from chats, emails, social networks, WhatsApp …) we must channel them otherwise we would be answering such messages all day. Social networks are good and necessary at work, but we need specific hours to enter and interact with others, not the whole day.
Emails
Email is already the most important method of communication and contact between users, especially at work. But when we are looking and receiving emails all day, the work is left undone.
The office and outlook programs are recommended where we see small notifications of the emails that are reaching us to prioritize and answer only the important ones. Another way to avoid them is to read your mail and reply first thing in the morning and then last thing. We will do the same in the afternoon. But the rest of the time we must avoid its use unless we have to use it for our daily productivity.
Types of interruptions
We have already seen what the most basic interrupts are. On the one hand, we have the interruptions of people that can hinder our work, whether we are at home or in the office. These interruptions, most of which should be avoided, tend to deconcentrate to a great extent.
Technological disruptions, which are becoming stronger and more noticeable, must be partly avoided. That is, establish a fixed schedule for each of them, and then dedicate themselves to work and the priority itself.
In the office, the same work environment can cause us not to be productive enough. One option is to use headphones to cancel the noise, this allows us to be more focused on our task.
