Do you know anyone who is always interrupting you?
It could be a boss who is always adding to your list of things to do before you can even get through the current tasks
Maybe it’s that person who won’t stop interrupting you when you are speaking
Is it someone who keeps talking when you need to focus on what you are doing?
Maybe this is you.
If you are the one who is distracting others, here are some points to consider.
- Distracting others will decrease productivity. If you are trying to get your subordinates to get more done, distracting them will only slow them down. While there are times when it is necessary to interrupt someone, it should limited to only emergencies and urgent situations. If an emergency or urgent sitatuion is every day or multiple times of day, it is time to reevaluate your priorities.
- Distracting others can make them annoyed with you. More often than not we get annoyed when we are interrupted and distracted from what we are focusing on. This is especially the case if this happens frequently. Do your best to be aware of when you are interrupting or distracting someone
- Distracting others can make you look bad. If you distract others and interrupt people enough, you will get the reputation of the person who interrupts everyone.
- Distracting others can become a bad habit. Like any other bad habit, if you do something often enough, you will fall into a habit. The longer you have a habit, the harder it is to break. It is best to quit in the early phases.
It is also important to note that interruptions and distractions are not only just interrupting someone when they are speaking or throwing a task on someone’s plate when they are already busy.
Other examples include:
- Adding ideas or options when there are already too many - like trying to decide what or where to eat
- Giving unsolicited advice
- Talking oversome else who is already helping you - like giving someone directions when they are already using a GPS
We can all distract people in different ways sometimes. It is just a part of life that things come up that are urgent or maybe we just want to have fun and do something out of the ordinary. You just want to make sure that you are not doing this in excess. It is also Important to take note that some people hate being interrupted more than others.