Managing interruptions is essential to enjoying work. Read on for tips to help you overcome distractions and get things done.

Interruptions are inevitable in our busy lives. Whether it’s a phone call, an email, a colleague, or a family member, there’s always something or someone demanding our attention and disrupting our activities.

Interruptions can negatively affect productivity, creativity, and well-being. They can make us feel stressed, frustrated, and overwhelmed. How can we manage interruptions and focus on our tasks?

1      Plan your day and prioritize your tasks

One of the best ways to manage interruptions is to plan your day and prioritize your tasks. Plan your daily life by scheduling your calendar when things will get done. Weekly planning is also worthwhile, and updating the annual plan is recommended every three months.

You can allocate your time and energy more effectively when you have a clear idea of what you need to do and when to do it.

Focus on one thing and tool at a time. Switching attention between several tasks within a short period takes energy and impairs performance. Intensive use of multiple devices increases stress and makes it difficult to concentrate.

You should mark certain hours of the day for concentrated work in the calendar and tell others that you are unavailable during these times. You can also use tools like to-do lists and timers to stay on top of things and track your progress.

2      Identify and eliminate the causes of interruptions

Another way to manage interruptions is to identify and eliminate sources of interruptions, which means managing your environment and minimizing distractions that might interrupt your work.

For example, you can turn off phone notifications, close your email and social media tabs occasionally, or use them in a planned way only at a particular time. Automatic “your message has been noticed” or out-of-office reply messages in the email are a great way to communicate that you will return to the matter later.

To calm the work environment, you can use headphones, withdraw to work in a quiet space, or reserve a remote workday in your calendar if it is possible.

You can also ask others to respect your work time and avoid interrupting you unless it is urgent or essential. Various mutually agreed ‘do not disturb’ signs and signals help everyone to appreciate others’ work peace.

3      Take breaks and recharge your brain

Taking breaks and recharging is vital to managing interruptions. Give yourself time and space to relax, refresh and refocus. Taking breaks can help reduce stress, improve mood, increase creativity, and improve performance.

You can take breaks in different ways, such as stretching, meditating, listening to music, reading, or chatting with a friend. You can also take breaks according to your preferences and needs. For example, try the Pomodoro technique, where you work for 25 minutes and take a 5-minute break, or you can follow your rhythm and take breaks when you’re tired or bored.

4      Manage being interrupted

From time to time, we will be interrupted, and then it is worth taking a time-out.

Recognize and accept that there has been an interruption. Take a breath and take a break. Think for a moment about where you were in your current task and what you were thinking at that very moment. Write those notes down briefly. Only after this can you give yourself permission to answer the call or turn to the person who asked you for advice.

5      Develop your ability to manage interruptions with micro-learning

Interruptions are a part of life, but they don’t have to ruin your productivity, creativity, and well-being. You can learn to systematically manage interruptions to enjoy your work and achieve your goals.

Academy of Brain’s comprehensive training offering of micro courses lasting less than 10 minutes includes several micro-courses for improving concentration and managing interruptions. Micro-courses studied on the intranet or in the Viva Learning application offer training that develops working life skills for quick study, for example, during a coffee break or a team meeting.

The package of 50 courses offers training to develop the most essential human skills, such as trust and safety, mental well-being, self-management, leadership, growth mindset, and cooperation and interaction.

Read more: Develop your working life skills with microlearning

Marko Koskela
Chief Commercial Officer