How to Handle the “got-a-minute” Interruptions-

It happens every day – the tentative knock on the door and the words “gotta minute?” That minute turns in 5 or 10 and then it takes another 5 to get back on task – and then another knock!

Here’s a memo I have recommended that all the members in my Vistage Groups, and all my coaching clients, send to their direct reports:

“Please do not come to my door and ask if I have a minute. The answer will be no. Unless urgent, hold all thoughts, ideas, issues, or (non-urgent) concerns until the weekly staff meeting. This meeting is held…….

Otherwise, I will post two times each day when I will take “got-a-minute” meetings. If your needs cannot wait for the weekly meeting, write your name in the got-a-minute times allocated and I will take quick 5-to-10-minute meetings.

If the matter is of such urgency that it must be resolved before the next available “got-a-minute” time slot, I will, of course be responsive to the time-critical needs of the company and will accept interruptions. However, please understand that we are all more efficient when we are able to plan our time and work without interruption. I would be surprised if in any one month there were more than one item so time critical that it could not be addressed during the weekly staff meeting or at a scheduled “got-a-minute” time slot and therefore require interruption.”

PLEASE FILL OUT this form prior to our scheduled “got-a-minute” meeting, or prior to our regular staff meeting:

Situation:

•  a
•  b
•  c

Three things you’ve already thought about

• a
• b
• c

What will happen if you do

• a?
• b?
• c?

What do you recommend? 

In order to make any policy like this work, it’s going to take “pig-headed” discipline, determination, and stubbornness on your part to turn this new process into a habit. When someone comes to your door with a “got-a-minute” meeting, you must stop them cold and say something like, “Is this something that can’t wait until the weekly meeting,” or “can’t this be covered in a scheduled ‘got-a-minute’ meeting?” They will still try to get you to focus on it right then and there. And if you don’t display that stubborn determination and discipline to say no, you’ll cave and jump right into it and nothing will change. This will take more discipline on your part than theirs. If you are consistent, they will learn.

We all want to be helpful and responsive to others, and not seem to be rude or uncaring. That said, being responsive does not mean being available every minute. Being available every minute is good for the other person’s convenience and not necessarily good for the team. In effect, all of the people who are asking you “got-a-minute” are satisfying their immediate needs at the expense of your time and focus. This undisciplined approach is inefficient, borderline disrespectful of you, and certainly frustrating, especially to you. When we all become respectful of the challenges others face, and manage our time for the good of the team, we all become more productive. A process like this can help instill this discipline.

As with any change, figuring out exactly what the process will be, and then putting together an implementation plan that communicates the “why” of the change will be important to success.

P.S. We’ve obviously always “got a minute” for our “customers:”  our boss, important customers, other key stakeholders, etc. The staff, however, can be trained….