In today’s fast-paced work environment, interruptions seem inevitable. From emails to phone calls and meetings, Teams chat and Slack conversations, distractions can easily take away from our productivity.
We believe that uninterrupted time is at least four times more productive than broken time!
According to a 2020 HBR article, the average person at work is interrupted every 6-12 minutes, with 15% reporting 20 or more interruptions in a day. This results in a significant loss of productivity. When we are interrupted, it takes us time to refocus and get back into the flow of our work. This can result in a decrease in the quality of our work and a delay in completing tasks.
On the other hand, uninterrupted time allows us to fully concentrate on a task without distractions. This allows us to enter a state of flow where we are completely focused and engaged in our work, resulting in higher productivity and better quality work.
To make the most of uninterrupted time, it’s important to minimize distractions. This can be done by turning off notifications on your phone or email, closing unnecessary tabs on your computer, and scheduling time for focused work without interruptions.
All sounds pretty simple, hey?
And yet we continually speak with people for whom these issues remain a seriously major issue and the idea of being temporarily unavailable to complete important work is nigh on impossible. Sometimes it’s the work culture and expectations of senior management, other times it’s simply the conditioning of the individual to feel like they need to respond almost immediately to every communication. Usually it’s a combination of both!
Uninterrupted time is essential for maximizing productivity and producing high-quality work. By minimizing distractions and carving out time for focused work, we can improve our productivity and achieve our goals more efficiently and is one reason why Effective Personal Productivity is Part 1 of our Total Leader™ Solution – being in control of our time is a fundamental leadership skill.