Excuse Me Mr. (or Mrs.) Ringmaster

Imagine a circus where the ringmaster is about to introduce an act and someone runs to them and says, "Did you know that they have fresh popcorn at the concession stand?" Or think about a circus where the trapeze act is interrupted by someone who wants to discuss the day's events with a member of the team. It would be frustrating to all involved.

That's my experience with more than a few people the last couple of weeks. I may not be the best conversationalist but I do think I am at least a trite interesting. I always try and get to know the other person and find out interesting things about them. Several times recently, however, I have been in conversation with someone only to have to pause while they read (and often responded to) a text on their phone. Often they did it multiple times. Most of the time I would just end the conversation and move on.

For those who text often, here are a few thoughts on "texting etiquette:"

• If you want to have a quality real-time conversation with someone, turn the phone off.
• If you are expecting an important text (family emergency or job offer), tell the other person the first time it beeps, buzzes or vibrates. That way they aren't offended when your phone keeps interrupting the conversation.
• If you must read and respond to the text, say "I apologize. Excuse me for just a moment while I take care of this." Then take care of it as quickly as possible, turn the phone off, return to the conversation and apologize again. Enjoy the benefits of a quality conversation that actually takes place in complete sentences.
• If at all possible, refrain from texting during a conversation at all-it's just rude.

The Show Must Stop!

While in a commercial plane this week, I experienced something quite strange. The plane was taxiing to the gate when a passenger got up and went to the bathroom. The flight attendant alerted the pilot and he immediately stopped the plane. The flight was already late, and the needless delay due to one person's selfish act really made many of the passengers angry. Moments later the passenger emerged and took the "walk of shame" back to their seat.

The incident made me think about things that might cause my circus to abruptly stop... and what I need to do to prevent them. Some of the key steps for me to take would be:

• Keeping my employees up-to-date on using technology and office equipment as well as diagnosing and repairing problems.
• Having contingency plans in place if an employee doesn't show up for work or is delayed for some reason.
• Maintaining my physical health to minimize time lost to sickeness or lack of energy.
• Always being aware of an alternate way to travel to a destination in the event of flight delays or cancellations.

What about you? What are those things that bring your performance to a screeching halt?

Don't Create Your Own Chaos

While you normally think of interruptions being created by others and brought to bear on your circus, don't miss those "changes of direction" that are often caused by your own inability to plan or focus properly. Some examples include:

• Leaving "e mail notification" turned on for your email program. Each time the indicator pops up telling you that you have a message, you are distracted. It's just human nature to say, "I wonder who is e mailing me?"
• Not managing your sleep patterns, exercise or food intake. If you are ready to crawl on your desk at 2 PM and take a nap, maybe it's time to start an exercise program that will help you sustain your energy throughout the day. Or perhaps you need to explore ways to get a better night's sleep-or watch what you eat at lunch that may be making you sleepy.
• Beginning-but not ending-an intense discussion with your spouse, children, or co-worker. If you have something serious to discuss, choose a time that you can prudently work through the issue. Leaving "loose ends" in discussions will weigh heavily on you in those moments at work when you should be focusing on other tasks.

Most importantly, be the ringmaster. As much as it's possible, take control of your time, energy and actions... or someone else certainly will.

Email and Gambling

I just heard on the radio of a study on email conducted by Dr. Thomas Jackson of Loughborough University, England. In the study, Dr. Jackson notes that it takes an average of 64 seconds to recover your train of thought after interruption by email. So, people who check their email every five minutes waste 8 1/2 hours a week trying to get back on track.

Another study by Tom Stafford, a lecturer at the University of Sheffield, England believes that the same learning mechanisms that drive gambling addicts are also at work with email users. "Both slot machines and email follow something called a 'variable interval reinforcement schedule' which has been established as the way to train in the strongest habits," he says. 'This means that rather than reward an action every time it is performed, you reward it sometimes, but not in a predictable way. So with email, when I usually check it there is nothing interesting, but every so often there's something wonderful-and I get a reward." The reinforcement schedule of email is enough to keep us checking whenever we hear the "bell." Didn't Pavlov have a dog that reacted the same way? Scary!

I know I can fall victim to this "conditioning" but I am amazed at what I have been seeing lately. I have been in meetings and the person speaking will stop mid sentence, put the meeting on hold, and check their email because his/her phone beeped. Even regularly when carrying on a one on one conversation with someone, while I am talking with them, they will check their email on their Blackberry or phone. They will even reply to the email while saying to me, "Uh huh, uh huh." Don't people realize we know they are not paying attention to us or listening to what we are saying when they are checking/responding to email?

Again, take a moment and consider your email habits. I have! Turn off the bell and plan a time to check email. (It can at least wait until after our meeting!) One recommendation is to check email two times a day-the beginning of the day and an hour before the end of the day. I know that is a little extreme but limiting it to once an hour for some would be a big step. Then you'll be a winner when it comes to managing your time.

Not a TRUE Interruption

While in a corporate training program a few days ago, I was working through the section of the program that deals with "focusing on your most important acts in your lineup." One of the participants said, "You know, there really aren't many TRUE interruptions." I was curious about their response and asked them to explain.

They said that most individuals consider anything that stops them from completing their current task as an interruption. In reality, many of the things that we consider interruptions are actually part of our job responsibilities. A phone call may be viewed as an interruption, but it is actually within our job expectations to answer it and deal with the need on the other end of the line if it's about work. Someone stopping by our office to ask us something related to work may break our concentration on a high mental task, but it's not truly an interruption.

The person was right. It would be futile to try and eliminate all interruptions-most of us would have to quit our job. Our goal, instead, should be to figure out ways to MANAGE those interruptions that are work-related and MINIMIZE those interruptions that are not work-related. We'll look at ways to do that in our next few blogs.