Have You Got a Minute?



Learn Management Articles on management-info.biz. Have You Got a Minute? article will help answer your questions on Management Articles.We at management-info.biz specialize in Management Articles. Management Articles at management-info.biz provides the most up to date news and articles. If you have questions please do not hesitate to contact us.

Such an innocuous little phrase, yet when you are hard at work, really focused and engrossed in what you are doing this seemingly harmless request can be a nightmare distraction.

“The average American has 50 interruptions a day, of which 70% have nothing to do with work” W. Edwards Deming

Interruptions are on of the main time stealers that get in the way of productivity. Whether it is phone, email or person generated, have you got a minute? can really break your concentration, affect your mood and make you feel irritated and frustrated.

Have you got a minute can so easily turn into 5, 15 or even 30 minutes and suddenly your day is behind schedule but, remember you let it happen. However, the good news is that it is within your control to do something about it. You can stop or at least manage these situations
Here are my top 5 tips for managing interruptions

1.If you work in your own office – close the door and put a notice on the outside saying please do not disturb until 2.30pm (or whatever time you will be finished doing what you are doing)
2.If you work in an open plan office, put a note on your desk or on top of your PC saying I need to concentrate, please do not disturb , then take it down when you are finished
3.If you need to have uninterrupted time each day, switch off your phone, close down your email and let your colleagues, boss and team know that for example, you do not want to be interrupted, plan meetings, chat etc every day between 8.30 and 9am
4.In response to the Have you got a minute? You can say
a.No
b.Not at the moment but if you come back in 30 minute I will have
c.I have a maximum of 5 minutes. What specifically do you want to speak to me about and is 5 minutes enough? If so go ahead. If not, suggest a more convenient time
d.Tell me what you specifically want to talk to me about and then I’ll tell you whether now is a good time to discuss it
5.Educate your colleagues, team, boss to do all of the above and respect their wishes too. This helps create good habits all round


Article Index: | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38 | 39 | 40 | 41 | 42 | 43 | 44 | 45 | 46 | 47 | 48 | 49 | 50 | 51 | 52 | 53 | 54 | 55 | 56 | 57 | 58 | 59 | 60 | 61 | 62 | 63 | 64 | 65 | 66 | 67 | 68 | 69 | 70 | 71 | 72 | 73 | 74 | 75 | 76 | 77 | 78 | 79 | 80 | 81



More Articles:


1. The Golden Key to Meeting Success By Kevin Eikenberry
We all attend many meetings. I’m sure you have been to some great meetings and some poor ones. Unfortunately for everyone I’ve ever talked to, the number of poor ones far outweighs the number of great ones.The fact is that most meetings are too long, unfocused, too frustrating, and unproductive.And yet meetings are a valuable way to gain collective understanding, buy-in, agreement, and consensus. They help us find better solutions and create cooperation, collaboration, colleagueship, and co…

2. Nine Secrets to Running Outstanding Meetings
Nine Ways Johnny Carson Can Help You Run OutstandingMeetingsBy Ed Sykes © 2005 all Rights ReservedRecently, America lost one of the giants of late night television, Johnny Carson. He was a master at his craft, because he would conduct his show, essentially like a ninety minute meeting. The program would be entertaining, insightful, informative, and leave you wanting more.Many times we fear going to meetings because we feel, based on past experiences, that they are going to be boring, not relevan…

3. Hire People For What They Do Best By Jacob Madison
I recently flew from Seattle to Atlanta, I realized, just as we began our taxi, that it takes hundreds of support personnel to maintain a flight. I saw the woman at the check-in desk, security, pilots, luggage handlers, flight crews, air controllers, and the various staff physically on the tarmac doing whatever people do on an airport tarmac.Just as it takes hundreds of people to make a flight a reality, it takes a small army to run a business. One thing I have learned in my short-life of busi…

4. Too Much Time Treating Symptoms By Bob Champagne
A man drives down the highway each day on his way to work. On Monday he gets a flat tire. Like anyone else, he takes his lumps, changes his tire, and moves on.One month later, almost to the day, the same darn thing happens. Just his luck. Only this time, its raining and he is forced to return home after changing his tire because he had gotten his new suit filthy in the process.Convinced that he's hitting a string of rotten luck, the man buys a good raincoat, and develops a faster routine for c…