At Mission Control we often speak about the benefit of being able to focus. It seems that when we are able to focus fully on one thing, we are more energized and at the same time peaceful, our creativity is more available, we feel more satisfied, and we accomplish more in a shorter timeframe.
A friend recently forwarded to me an article about the impact of interruptions on our ability to focus and the resulting impact on performance. The article spoke about a program to improve the accuracy of nurses administering medications. The main avenue for improving accuracy was reducing interruptions. The program involving nine hospitals resulted in an 88% drop in errors!
I think that for most of us the errors we make when we are distracted do not cause injuries, however, there is an impact. I began to do a little research into the nature of the interruptions I encountered and the “errors” I made as a function of these interruptions.
The first thing I noticed was that most of the interruptions were not urgent. Many of the interruptions were incoming phone calls, instant messages, people dropping by. Very few of them needed to be dealt with at that moment, and I could postpone them to a later time that was more convenient and immediately get back to what I was at work on when the interruption occurred. In terms of phone calls, with the magic of caller id, it is pretty easy to determine if it is a call I wanted to take and, if not, let it go to voicemail.
(By the way – some people I speak with are interrupted by the email “pop-up” that notifies them of an incoming email. If you still have that turned on, turn it off! In the “Help” function of your email program look up “email notification” or something similar to find the instructions for how to do this.)
There were also self-imposed interruptions or distractions when a thought would come to mind about something related, or unrelated, to what I was at work on, and I would go with that thought. If I made a note about the item, I was more able to continue with what I was already doing.
Another dimension of the interruptions – I found I was more willing to take the interruption and go with it if I didn’t have something scheduled or thought I could get done later what I had scheduled at the time.
The “errors” I made as a function of these interruptions were definitely not as grave as giving someone the wrong medication. And, most often, I was the only one who suffered as a function of the “errors”. At times the impact was in the quality or quantity of what I accomplished. The main impact I found was that, as a function of taking the interruptions, I ended up working later into the evening or over the weekend, sacrificing personal time.
I also noticed another “error” or impact of the interruptions, slightly less tangible but possibly as significant. That “error” was a decrease in my experience of satisfaction, accomplishment and peace of mind. When I accepted the interruptions, I found I was more distracted and anxious.
I invite you to do your own research into the impact of interruptions on you and the nature of the “errors” you make as a function of the interruptions. In terms of what we can do about the interruptions, I invite you to view our free online webinar Increasing Focus. It takes about 35 minutes.
As always, we would love to hear from you what you are noticing!
