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Introduction to distraction
control
Handling casual visitors
Remember that most people do not like doing tedious or difficult jobs - if they can shift them onto you, they will. If you are receptive or overly co-operative then you may find that your time fills with irrelevant tasks. You may find that you are extremely busy, but consistently fail to do your own job.
The way to get out of this situation is to say 'No' in a polite but firm way. Whether you can do this obviously depends on your relationship with the person who is asking you to do the job.
Where your boss is asking you to do a job that interferes with your work, then a useful trick is to ask him or her to prioritise the job in relation to existing work. Where this interferes with the achievement of other deadlines, this should be recognised.
Where it is important that you should not be interrupted, it may be effective to offer to advise someone else on how to carry out the work, collaborate with someone else, or delegate the job to an assistant.
Another area to be aware of is where assistants may return unfinished work to you. This leaves you having to complete the job. Where possible assistants should be encouraged to return to you with completed jobs only, or should complete the tasks themselves once you have given them the necessary of information.
Introduction to distraction
control
Handling casual visitors
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