Do you ever have co-workers or employees that just drop by your office to chat? Time is precious. Once it is gone, you can’t get it back. So you have to make the best use of what you have. Don’t let people take advantage of your time. Do people truly need to talk or do they just “want” to talk? This doesn’t mean you never have time for others, it just means you limit the time you give away or let others take, especially when you are busy, on a deadline, or a tight schedule.
Some tips to help you accomplish this.
1. Be polite, but say, “I would love to chat, but I’m on a tight schedule today. Can we make an appointment tomorrow” or whenever it is convenient for you. If it is important the person will schedule. Most likely they will say it wasn’t important and forget about it.
2. Close your door if you have one.
3. Hang a "Do Not Disturb” sign on your door or desk.
4. Keep a pile of papers on the extra chair in your office so people don’t just make themselves at home.
5. Keep writing or typing when someone walks in, listen but make sure it looks like you are concentrating on something.
6. Don’t answer the phone. It will move your focus elsewhere. Whatever the person has to say, they can tell voice mail. People are always much briefer when talking to a machine than a real person.
Try at least one of these tips out today and let me know if it makes a difference. If you have a tip to add, please list it in the comments.
It's amazing how much time out of our day we can lose to the phone! I've found the same thing - that if I'm careful about it I can be much more productive by avoiding chats/calls during my working hours. :)
ReplyDeleteI like how only 1 way is a verbal exchange. Every other way is either body language(keep typing), or a manipulation of your surroundings...that is smart!
ReplyDeleteAll excellent tips. I'll add one more: wear headphones. In my past corporate job, I used to wear headphones or my ipod earbuds while I worked. Half the time I would wear them yet not be playing anything on them, but it was enough to make people think twice before interrupting me for every little thing.
ReplyDeleteA great post. Succinct yet full of good content.As a hospital physician who has spent the last year in Acute Medicine, I know this problem only too well. Usually, I'm approachable and don't mind carrying out tasks to assist my more junior colleagues when I'm quiet, and my nursing colleagues often approach more senior doctors when a decision is required, as we're more likely to have the confidence to give an answer, or explain why we can't.
ReplyDeleteBut there are times when things are extremely busy, and there are of course some jobs which can only be done by one of two doctors, the consultant (the boss) and the registrar (the most senior of junior doctors; this is the level I'm at). This includes assessing which patients are safe to move out of the department (either to other wards or home) and dealing with critically unwell patients.
If I'm approached when things are this busy, I ask my nursing colleagues if their issue needs me, or can be handled by another more junior colleague. This helps keep my workload down to a more reasonable level, and my colleagues have been understanding of why I've taken this route.
On the advice of another colleague, I've stated to write up my patients at the back of the Doctor's room (oh, how I wish for a "do not disturb" sign ;-) which means that someone who has a basic query is unlikely to walk past all of my junior colleagues to get to me, while I remain readily available if I'm needed. I also like the idea of continuing to write and type whilst listening - a consultant colleague does this, and he's one of the most time-efficient people I've ever met.
Many thanks for a great post!