6 Ways to Manage Interruptions

If “Time Management” were a superhero, their archnemesis would be “Interruptions.” Just how villainous are interruptions? In one study, interruptions took over 23 minutes to fully refocus on a task. Another study found that the average person is interrupted up to 50 times per day for a total of 3 hours of interrupted time. Just imagine: You could watch almost 2 movies (or 9 anime episodes) with that much interrupted time each day!

However, life rarely goes as planned. An unexpected phone call or text message, a sudden visit from a friend or co-worker, or a shift in priorities can completely derail our expectations for the day. Rather than trying to avoid all interruptions, it’s best to accept that interruptions are inevitable. Then, create strategies to navigate interruptions quickly and effortlessly. Whether you’re juggling a full-time student schedule with a part-time job, a family, or a busy weekend full of activities, you can manage the interruptions that come your way with these helpful tips:

1. Identify What’s Important vs. What’s Urgent

Get in the habit of recognizing what “type” of interruption or task you’re dealing with. This helps you categorize the interruption/task and automate your response to it. Interruptions/tasks generally fall into three categories: Urgent, Important, and Unimportant.

Urgent: Your online assignment is due in 10 minutes. Your car just blew out a tire. Your child is sick and needs to be picked up from school. Your bathroom started flooding without warning. You must deal with these types of interruptions right away, or the consequences will hit you instantly. Stop everything you’re doing and fully commit to resolving the interruption/task.

Important: You need to schedule your annual doctor’s appointment. You have a research paper due at the end of the term. Your child’s big soccer game is this weekend. You want to start remodeling your bathroom. It’s important to address these tasks — because they have deadlines or eventual consequences — but they don’t require you to drop everything you’re doing to tackle them immediately. Important interruptions or tasks can be planned out, so schedule deliberate times to address them. Important tasks are often crucial to your personal goals (like finishing your degree, having a strong relationship with your child, or furnishing your dream home), so be sure you make time for these without letting Urgent interruptions/tasks take all your focus.

Unimportant: What’s “unimportant” to you may be highly important to another person. Generally, an Unimportant interruption/task is something that neither directly affects you nor is critical to your personal goals. Examples might include: Responding to a group text you really don’t need to be part of, taking on extracurricular activities that don’t align with your interests or goals, or feeling obligated to say “yes” to every single request.

Realize that Urgent interruptions/tasks must come first. Otherwise, focus your time on what’s Important. Avoid, delegate, or minimize Unimportant distractions. Remember not to let your day be consumed by only Urgent tasks. Ensure Important tasks have your focus when possible.

2. Block Out Time

Give yourself permission to “block” times of your day when you aren’t “allowed” to manage interruptions (of course, if the situation is Urgent, that’s the exception!). Here are a few ways to practice this:

If you keep a calendar, set “Available” and “Unavailable” times when you can and can’t handle interruptions during your day.
Silence notifications or turn your phone face-down and out of reach. (Airplane mode is your friend!)
Shut your door or put a sign on it saying you’re working and can’t be interrupted. State on the sign when you’ll be available again.

3. Learn to Say “No”

You’ll have many opportunities throughout the semester to distract yourself or prioritize other things. Hanging out with friends, attending sporting events, and watching a new television series are all important to your happiness — so make time for these activities. However, it’s equally important that these activities don’t disrupt your daily routine or interfere with schoolwork. If they do, don’t be afraid to say “no” or “later.”

Here are some ways you can say “no”:

To a friend or classmate: “Could we do that tomorrow instead?” or “I’m really sorry, I won’t be able to this time. Have fun though!” or “Sure, but I can only stay until about 3:00. Is that okay?” or “I’m pretty overloaded with homework this week. Sorry.”

To an event: “Instead of the whole weekend, I’ll just attend this one day.” Or “I’d rather go to the end-of-season playoff than this smaller game; I can skip this one.” Or “I’ll just go half a day instead of the whole day.” Or “If I can get all my schoolwork done this week before the weekend, I’ll go. Otherwise, I’ll skip this time.”

To entertainment: “I’ll save that show for later.” Or “I’ll set a timer and play for only 30 minutes this time.” Or “I’m only going to watch it on my lunch break.”

4. Set a Timer To Stay Focused

Self-interruption is the most frequent distraction — but fortunately, the easiest to manage! Checking your social media, turning your attention away from your work, or getting up to grab a snack out of boredom are all forms of self-interruption. While you can set your phone somewhere out of reach or ask someone to hide your favorite bag of chips, there’s a simpler solution: setting a timer.

Setting a timer helps you stay on-task until the alarm goes off. It also gives you permission to focus 100% on the task, knowing that you’ll be alerted when it’s time to stop. Then, you can take a break, check your notifications, or grab a snack. My recommendation: Experiment with gradual increases of time, starting with just five minutes, then going up to one hour.

5. Tackle Unavoidable Interruptions

If the interruption is urgent, such as when you need to take your pet to the vet, pick someone up from work, or handle an unexpected call, deal with the interruption as quickly as possible. Focus your energy and attention on resolving it, and don’t waste time feeling upset or procrastinating.

Pretend you’re running a relay race; this interruption can’t stop your momentum. Manage the interruption by resolving it quickly, like an in-motion athlete jumping over an obstacle, to stay on track.

6. Catch Your Breath

Self-awareness helps you stay above the chaos that interruptions leave in their wake. Sometimes interruptions unsettle us, and it can take time to calm down or manage our emotions so we can fully focus on work again.

If you find yourself too distracted by the interruption to get back in “work mode,” try engaging in a 10-minute activity to bring yourself back to neutral ground. Play a mobile game. Watch a funny YouTube or TikTok clip. Call a friend. Go for a walk. Then get back to work focused and ready to get things done!

Ready to Tackle Your Next Interruption?

Whether you need a professional to tutor you through a difficult subject or accommodations to help minimize the distractions you face, EFSC is here to help! Be sure to watch Career Services’ Time Management & Organizational Skills workshop for more tips.

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Casey Covel

As Assistant Manager of Web and Social Media at EFSC, Casey keeps students informed of all the exciting "happenings" at the college. She earned national honors while completing her A.A. degree at EFSC, graduated with a B.A. in Human Communication through UCF, and is currently pursuing her M.A. in Media Psychology at Fielding University. An award-winning writer on matters of faith and pop culture, Casey’s hobbies include sipping tea, wielding chopsticks, gaming in the realms of Tellius and Hyrule, growing her action figure collection and squinting at strange words.