Are interruptions ruining your productivity?
As a legal professional, you are often working on projects and tasks that require intense concentration. But constant interruptions break the flow of your thought processes. This can slow down your work and make you less efficient at your job. If you feel this is happening to you, then you need to look at what is causing the interruptions and find ways to diminish the frequency. There are three common causes of interruptions for most legal professionals: email, telephone calls, and co-workers.
Interrupting Emails
If you’re like most people, you start your day by checking your email. If you receive a large number of emails, this can be an extremely time-consuming task. It is important to have a system for processing your email inbox in order to keep it from growing into a huge time commitment.
When you review your email, decide if there is a task required that is related to the email. If it is a task that can be performed in five minutes, tackle it right then before moving on. If a task is required that will take more time, add it to your task list. You will be able to then prioritize the task in connection with all of your tasks for the day.
Whenever possible, check your email only periodically throughout the day. Are you one of those people who have email open all the time so you can see every message as it comes in? This practice results in interruptions that happen constantly while you are working on performing other tasks. If possible, choose a period of time that you will check your email and stick to it. You may decide to check your email once in the morning, once at lunch, and once near the end of the day. If you are required to view emails more frequently, try waiting until the beginning of every hour to check for new emails. This will allow you to read and prioritize emails in batches, and will give you some solid uninterrupted time to work on larger tasks that require more concentration.
Interrupting Telephone Calls
As a legal professional, you receive many different types of telephone calls during the day. Some are more important than others. Most telephone systems now have caller ID which allows us to see who is calling before we pick up. Use the caller ID to screen calls. Some calls need to be taken right away. Others are not as pressing and can wait for a time that is more convenient for you. Let those calls go to voice mail.
Schedule a time of day to return telephone calls. You may choose one time in the afternoon to return calls, or you may need to schedule time more frequently such as every two or three hours. The goal is to group your calls together as much as possible. This allows you to limit the interruptions you receive throughout the day and gives you more time to focus on tasks that require more concentration.
Interrupting Co-Workers
It is necessary for co-workers to interact and communicate regularly throughout the work day. Some co-workers interrupt more frequently than others. An urgent issue for them may not be an urgent issue for you. If you find this situation happening, encourage these co-workers to email you questions. This will allow you to preview their requests and decide whether this is a priority for you to work on right this minute. If a co-worker has many questions for you, encourage them to write the questions down and come to you once or twice a day to discuss the list of questions.
These situations need to be handled delicately because you don’t want to alienate your peers. Let your co-workers know when you are working on a project and need some uninterrupted time. If you have a door on your office, close it to let people know right now is not a good time for an interruption. If you do not have a door, send an email asking for interruptions to be kept to a minimum during your project time. If you designate a start and end time, your co-workers will feel more comfortable waiting to talk to you if they know what time you will be free.
The skill of good time management can be an asset for you and your employer. Frequent interruptions can negatively impact your ability to get work done efficiently. This may result in working longer hours to get everything done, or not getting as much done in the hours you do work. Managing frequent interruptions is a good skill to master if you work in a law office.
Interested in reading more? Here are some good articles we found that you might find helpful.
“Managing Interruptions: Maintain Focus, Keep Control of Your Time,” by Mindtools.com
“Top 6 Strategies for Managing Interruptions in the Workplace,” by Kristina Schneider, Executive Assistant
“The 4-D Formula for Managing Interruptions,” by TimeManagementSuccess.com
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