The Cost of Interruptions and Distractions
- 1. TheCost of Interruptions and Distractions atWork 1
- 2. Interruptions & Distractions Interruptions = stop what you are doing & respond Phone calls Instant messages E-mails from your team or manager Someone stopping by your office to ask a question or share info Distractions = take your attention away, breaking focus on the current task at hand Cell phone notifications Alerts from software on your computer 2
- 3. Interruptions make us dumber On average there are 11 minutes between interruptions/distractions, and it can take up to 25 minutes before you are able to focus 100% on what you were previously working on. 3 http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/05/opinion/sunday/a-focus-on-distraction.html
- 6. The Multi- tasking Myth “Multi-tasking” actually doesn’t exist. It’s really just quickly switching between tasks -- not doing them at the same time. Research has shown that multi-tasking/task switching can reduce overall productivity by 40%. Task switching is basically you interrupting yourself What the heck was I just doing? 6 http://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/16/magazine/16guru.html?_r=1 http://www.ics.uci.edu/~gmark/CHI2005.pdf
- 7. The cost of interruptions. Time + productivity = money! Time is a valuable thing to waste. Based on a company with $60 million a year in revenue and taking into account efficiency lost due to task switching: A 15 minute telephone conversation between you and your manager can cost your company ~$209. A series of instant messages to discuss project status is ~$183. Stop at the CEO’s door, CEO is on the phone, and you walk away? CEO thinks it’s important and chases you down.Total cost ~ $425. 7
- 8. What if you could “offload” some of that work? Remove back and forth e-mails, chasing people down, interrupted phone calls, and time spent discussing the same thing (“rework”) Achieve more clarity since project status is all stored in one place and you can update/check it when you want to instead of being interrupted. UpdateZen status updates cost, on average, $3. 8
- 9. UpdateZen as an extra brain Like using a notebook to take notes so you don’t have to remember everything, UpdateZen lets you update executive or manager at your convenience, when you want to. Fewer interruptions to your work day Refer to the latest status and all project history when you have to Executive can also check updates when he/she wants to, so there is less back and forth and results in a more efficient and effective team. 9
- 10. UpdateZen puts all status updates in one place Reduce or eliminate all the other ways that you track and report status now: Spreadsheets Email Instant messages Google Docs Phone calls Text messages In person drop bys Meetings 10
- 11. The end result: be better at your job Reduce the amount of interruptions for yourself and your team. Stop looking in multiple places to find out what happened last. Always know that you and your manager are on the same page so you can stay productive and keep things moving forward. 11