There’s nothing quite like finding my assistant, Erika, in handcuffs to make me really appreciate productivity.
I’ll explain.
Back in my days working in the movie industry as a set decorator and prop house owner – I helped my client, Ted, choose the furniture, street lights, artwork and other props to help bring his movie sets to life. While we were busy putting together the perfect collection of set dressing for the movie, my pager went off, and it was a 911 from Erika. She was busy inventorying and packing all the items that we had chosen, but apparently something was seriously wrong. I dropped everything, left my client, and raced upstairs to find … Erika locked in those handcuffs.
She sheepishly explained she’d never seen a pair, and thought she’d try them on, accidentally locking herself in them.
In a literal sense, Erika had the cold metal handcuffs clamping her wrists. But metaphorically? It felt like my productivity was handcuffed in that moment, too.
We waste so much of our time, not because we’re choosing to be unproductive, but because other people distract us.
Studies have shown that office workers are interrupted at an average of every 10 minutes. Other studies show that it takes an average of 25 minutes to return to the original task you were working on after an interruption.
Once you do the math, you realize that you’re wasting between 2 and 5 hours, if not more, at the office every day, based on how often and how long your colleagues interrupt you.
Do you feel like your workday is handcuffed by the actions of someone else too? With colleague chit-chat being the #2 culprit of workplace distractions, it wouldn’t be surprising. You may notice your blood pressure rising repeatedly when the work conversation turns to updates about family matters or therapy.
But if our colleagues hold the handcuffs, we hold the keys. We have the power to turn away from colleagues’ chit-chat and keep our eye on the goals we want to accomplish.
The next time you’re hard at work and someone pops up beside your desk ready to suck all that productivity away, think about whether or not you actually want to be handcuffed to that conversation — or if you want to turn the key to get out.
Let your co-workers know you’re on a deadline. Shut your door or put some headphones on (even if you’re not actually listening to anything).
Make it clear that the only thing you’re tied to is not someone else’s conversation — but the task at hand.
“Energy is the essence of life. Every day you decide how you’re going to use it by knowing what you want and what it takes to reach that goal, and by maintaining focus.”
Oprah Winfrey
