Wednesday Work Tip #3: Avoid Interruptions

There's an old saying in business that "the customer always comes first". While I agree with this in principle, I have a problem with how a lot of people put it into practice. A lot of people use this as a way to justify immediately answering every phone call or email from a customer any time throughout the day -- sometimes even in the middle of talking to another customer!

You have to look at the big picture. Sure, you have a duty to be responsive to your customers in a timely manner. But you also have a duty to provide them with a working product and a quality service. You also have a duty to be at your best for them, intellectually and emotionally. You have a duty to them to stay both physically and financially healthy so that you are able to continue to provide them support down the road.

Jumping on every phone call or email as soon as it comes in is short-sighted. Sure, it may give an impression of responsiveness at first, but as you grow, as you become busier and busier, it's not sustainable. Things like developing new products, improving your professional skills and keeping yourself healthy all require uninterrupted time on a consistent basis in order to be effective. If you allow interruptions to creep into those activities, you lose efficiency because of the time it takes to switch activities and switch back, and you lose effectiveness (two 10-minute stints on the exercise bike isn't as effective as one 20-minute session).

It's also perfectly OK to appear busy to your customers -- not so busy that you can't serve them well, of course, but you being busy reinforces the idea that other people want your product or service and that you are successfully growing your business. In general, people want to do business with people that are successful, not desperate.

Here are a few simple tips to help you make sure that you have uninterrupted time to do those important things that help you build and sustain your business:

Don't prioritize your schedule, schedule your priorities. This is one of my favorite bits of wisdom from Stephen Covey's The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. If something is really important to you, simply make the time for it. Sure, some stuff will give way - you're only human, and you can only do so much. Set aside time for product development, marketing, personal development, exercise, rest, etc. Whatever disappears wasn't really that important.

Turn off automatic send/receive in your email. There's practically nothing more distracting than "You've got mail!" (or whatever its equivalent is on your computer). Most people just can't ignore it. "Yippee! Someone actually wants to talk to me!" In reality, it's more like, "Oh good, I can go talk with someone, which is fun, rather than staying focused on the task at hand, which I'm starting to tire of." Email is not an instant medium - the telephone and instant messaging are. People do not expect you to be sitting at your computer immediately answering emails all day long (and if they do, that's completely unreasonable, and you need to set their expectations appropriately or else drop them as a client - they're going to be a pain).

In most cases, even for customer correspondence, 24-hour turnaround time should be acceptable. And if it's not related to an immediate customer service issue, two or three days is reasonable. Schedule your email time two or three times a day (I recommend start and end of day, at a minimum) and keep it shut off the rest of the time.

Close the door. So simple, so obvious, and yet many people don't do it. A closed door doesn't mean people (employees, spouse, friends, etc.) can't interrupt you if it's truly urgent, it's just a reminder to them that your time is valuable too, and that if it can wait, you'd appreciate it if they'd let you focus.

Screen your calls. Yes, I know that may not be a popular opinion. I'm not suggesting that you avoid most incoming calls. I'm just saying use your discretion and don't feel obligated to answer every one of them. If it's friends or family and you're in the middle of something, it can wait. If it's truly urgent, they'll call back, or let someone you work with know, etc. If you're not expecting the call, it's going to be a better use of your time if you have a voice mail or an email in advance letting you know what the purpose of the call is so you can be prepared and focused.

Again, keep the big picture in mind. Yes, the customer's needs are important, but so are your productivity and health so that you can continue to serve your customers well in the future.