Sep 11

Written by: THEODORE STATON
9/11/2008 9:30 AM 

For many of us in the organization, September means the beginning of “the busy season.” Kids are in school and college students have returned from summer hiatus meaning that schedules are busy and service needs are increased. With that in mind, I wanted share some thoughts from an article called “Fighting a War Against Distraction.”

The article discusses the dynamic of the constant interruptions we encounter in this plugged in, digital age. It also talks about the challenges of multi-tasking and finding quiet places to think. All of which comes at the expense of one’s ability to focus and to pay attention to what we are doing and to ourselves. I’m sure most, if not all of can relate to this! So here is some food for thought:

 The average knowledge worker switches tasks every three minutes and once distracted, takes nearly a half-hour to resume the original task.
 Interruptions and subsequent recovery time now consume 28% of a worker’s day.
 Employees who are routinely interrupted and lack time to focus are more apt to feel frustrated.

Believe it or not, there is now a discipline called “interruption science” and the good news is that we can combat this digital overload through conscious efforts to modify our environment. A wise colleague recently shared with some of us a “teachable moment” and encouraged us to distinguish between urgent and important as we go about our daily business. She noted that we can constantly deal with matters of urgency without ever getting anything important done. That is an idea worth chewing on.

So before you become too immersed in the “busy season” I would encourage you to read the full article at the link below. I would also ask that you share with me and your colleagues what you do to “un-plug” so-to-speak. I face this challenge myself and would welcome any suggestions you might have. I look forward to hearing from you.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/22/jobs/22shifting.html

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