Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with interruptions

Doohickey to deter people from interrupting me at work.

therubettes — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 07:37:02 -0800

I would like your suggestions for something I could place on my desk or computer which would clearly and visibly indicate to me and others my work status. The status I wish to illustrate is either a) Working on project X or b) not working on project X. I work in a small company and have been charged with project X. On a regular basis I am asked by co-workers and managers to help them out on things other than project X. I am being judged by my performance on project X and would like to strictly limit my time on anything other than project X. In an effort to track whether or not I am on project X and to deter myself and others from taking me off project X I would like something to place on my desk which I can set according to whether or not I am working on what I should be working on.

Ideas I have are a little flag and flag pole which could be up when on X and down when off X, or an Action Man who could be lying down dead when off X or shooting his gun when on x, or some sort of On Air / Off Air lights like they have in a radio studio.

It can be fun but should be safe for work visible from 15 paces or so and leave people in no doubt that I am busy and they had better think twice about interrupting me. I used to have a 'Do not disturb' sign for my door but have since move to an open plan office.

Read some good suggestions about workmate interruptions in this previous question but would like this 'thing' which you will hopefully suggest.

Help me finish this sentence. Please.

YamwotIam — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 16:47:14 -0800

Can you help me learn how to finish a sentence? OK, I'm a little embarrassed to be asking this question. I'm a generally assertive, confident person. I'm an effective manager in my workplace, not at all timid in my private life, and mostly at ease with where I'm headed personal-growth-wise. It's taken me a long time to get to this point. 19 post-adolescent years of overcoming self-doubt, lack of confidence, and so on.

But there's one monkey I can't seem to get off my back. In both social and professional situations, people interrupt me All The Fucking Time. And I want to know how to stop that from happening so often.

I've tried talking louder; talking faster; and starting sentences with "look," "you know what you should do," or "here's the thing." It doesn't work.

I just seem to be an interruptible person. I hate that. O uninterruptible people, what are your secrets?

Workmates who ask questions all day

TheManChild2000 — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 16:39:49 -0800

What are some strategies to cope with direct reports that are in my immediate physical area and who pepper me with questions all day long? I'm struggling with distractions at work and have given up on ever getting a personal space that I could use to somewhat control the physical interruptions. I'm stuck in a bullpen situation with three direct reports who are 2 feet, 4 feet, and 6 feet away. The imbalance of experience is such that these guys have to be able to use me as a resource. The problem is that the questions come at five-minute intervals all day long, and my own work (a lot of writing and strategy) is such that in order to be productive I have to be able to have long stretches of focus.

The only thing I can think of is to tell them to hold their questions until a set time every day, but that seems like kind of a crazy thing to ask. Has anyone been in a similar situation where that was the solution, and it didn't end up making the requestor look like an asshole and make everyone else feel really uncomfortable?

Oh, and wearing headphones has proven to be an almost comically useless technique. Nobody gets the hint.

This better be important

yalestar — Thu, 18 Aug 2005 17:30:13 -0800

Anyone have any experience with (or innovative solutions for) dealing with chronic workplace interruptions? Hoo-eee! I work with a guy who —I shit you not— cannot go ten minutes without interrupting somebody, and it's usually me. He comes over to my cubicle and just parks, apparently oblivious to the fact that I might be in the middle of something. I don't know if he's just lonely or what, but it's making me crazy. The twist is that sometimes it's actually work-related and pertinent, and I often benefit from his expertise, but 95% of the time, it's him coming over and saying something like, "Uh, just as an FYI, you'll have trouble if you try to export from Lotus Notes into RTF" and then use that to segue into some other bullshit. It's truly boggling that someone would be either so desperate to talk to somebody, or so clueless to social cues!

I've recently begun forcing myself to not acknowledge him with eye contact during these interruptions, and that helps shorten the unwanted visits slightly, but not the frequency. I've also tried actively wrapping up the exchange with, "Well, good. Alright." and then turning around purposefully to my computer, but again, it's pretty useless. Yesterday, ten seconds into one of his visits, I got up, exited the cubicle and walked to the printer, and the mofo FOLLOWED ME.

I'm a code jockey, and I need to get in the zone in order to be any good, and every time I have to stop for some impertinent anecdote it costs me at least 20 minutes.

So I'm looking for a tactful and diplomatic, yet effective, way to communicate this need to this person. I'm not a terribly confident or assertive person, so whatever I say is going to require me to muster some courage.