“Excuse me, could I borrow 5 minutes of your time?” - A question we all regularly get & more important: often while working. I don’t know about you, but 80% of my time I’m sitting behind a desk, working on my computer. Did you read the verb “work” in my last sentence? To me, working means I’m busy with something - concentrated - in a constant flow of preforming certain tasks to get my job done.
I started working almost 2 years ago - ever since I’ve seen a lot of different workplaces; small rooms, big rooms, lots of people, few people, noisy, calm … - I can live with that, in fact, I love working in a workplace that’s open with & lots of people around me. It gives me energy - that’s a good thing.
But there’s always one thing that disturbs me: when someone interrupts my work, my flow. I hate it when people come standing next to my desk, asking me questions - “borrowing 5 seconds of my time”. When you go to someone’s desk - asking him a question - you should think of the following remark: something that does takes 5 second of your time, does not necessarily takes 5 second of my time.
I have to stop what I’m doing, think about your question, perhaps even answer your question. Maybe you want to show me a website, or some other stuff - all related to your question. Those 5 seconds just became 10 minutes. Continuing where I stopped, isn’t always that easy. Depending on what I’m working on - I can’t always instantly make the switch, or continue afterwards.
I’m concentrated - there’s a certain vibe, flow while I’m working. It keeps me going, it keeps me focused.
I know - some questions are urgent & you sometimes need answer instantly. But when something’s not urgent you could send me an e-mail, asking me your question. Perhaps ask me when you can come over to discuss.
If you want your question to be taken seriously - this is for you. If you are on the other side of the fence: share it.
Sidenote: This could rather be something personal - maybe you don’t mind all of the above. But I find it rather annoying when I get interupted all the time.
