Are you always available?

“My door is always open”. That’s an expression we sometimes hear from our superiors in an organisation. Someone I know took it a different approach by having a door system for his office. Closed meant do not disturb, open meant he was available, and open a little bit meant only interrupt if it’s really urgent.

I thought that was a good idea, so his team clearly knew if they could go in and ask him a question, and it meant he could get the important work done without distraction. But for many of us we work in an open plan environment where there are no doors to use.

Put on your headphones?

There are a few ways to focus on some key work without those external interruptions. Wearing headphones is a popular way, even if you are not listening to anything. The more expensive pairs have adjustable noise cancelling, so you can let in as much or as little external noise as you wish. One attendee on a recent workshop said he liked just enough noise that he could hear what was going around him with the team.

Some people have another visual system like putting a small item like a teddy bear on their desk to represent “Do not disturb”. You’ve just got to remember to tell everyone what it means.

Go and hide

You will of course always get people who will bulldoze their way through any system you have, be it a boss or a team member. If there’s something big you need to do, then a little more stealth might be needed. My neighbour is working on a big work project, and his boss now allows him to work from home one day a week. He finds that day his most productive time, and he told me he gets so much more done.

Maybe companies and teams could ideally come up with their own system for everyone or an Interruption etiquette. Something to help balance the “getting the big work done” along with needing “quick response from colleagues” to make work flow more effortlessly for everyone.

Do you and your team have a system, and does it work? I’d love to know in the comments.