Why you cant work at work
Jason Fried writes about why you can’t work at work. Read here. Is this your workplace?
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Interesting pov by Jason Fried, and likely strikes a chord with anyone who works in an office environment. Here’s the thing from someone whose been in the office environment for many years — this isn’t a new problem. And speaking as someone who generally adopts technology and technological solutions, I’m not convinced that Campfire or any other software tool will “fix” the problem.
As Jason notes, interruptions cause interruptions, but I think his miscategorizes the nature of managers, stating that they are all about interruptions and meetings. True, poor managers may waste a lot of time, but good managers don’t because they realize that by interrupting people unintentionally and keeping them captive in meetings, they aren’t getting the most out of their reports.
So perhaps the answer is good old fashioned good management. Set the targets for reports, have regularly scheduled meetings so people know when they need to be available and when they get focus time, and keep the meetings short.
And don’t let fellow workers off the hook either. Have the manager tell everyone that they should refrain from chatter until lunch or water cooler talk, and also let everyone know that if someone interrupts with a non-urgent issue that will slow your workflow, then politely tell the interrupting co-worker that they need to come back later — or just schedule a meeting in Calendar which helps eveyone know when co-workers are available.
Software solutions can be helpful, they can also provide “cover” for poor management.
Bob
June 13, 2010 at 6:06 pm