At a glance
- British workers lose an entire day per week to preventable workplace interruptions, according to a 2024 study.
- Unproductive meetings alone cost the UK £64 billion annually, whilst 77% of workers report being distracted by digital notifications.
- Michael Cupps, a productivity expert, suggests implementing focused work periods and setting firm boundaries with clients to combat these workplace disruptions.
On average, a full-time worker in the UK loses an entire day per week to preventable interruptions, according to Protime’s June 2024 study of 2,000 workers.
Only 12% of workers feel they can stop interruptions, while 37% say interruptions cause anxiety and stress.
Given the high cost of interruptions to productivity and workers’ well-being, why aren’t businesses doing more to prevent them?
On the face of it, the task may seem insurmountable. The modern workplace is overloaded with sources of disruption – from phone calls, email and chat rooms to multitasking, meetings and clients’ increasing demands.
However, reducing interruptions isn’t as difficult as it seems. With a few simple steps, any workplace, regardless of its size, can bring greater flow to the working day, thereby boosting productivity and improving wellbeing.
Michael Cupps, productivity expert at Coterie Solutions and author of Time Bandit, shares five ways to minimise disruptions in the workplace.
1. Plan, limit and shorten meetings
Poorly run meetings are among the biggest time wasters.
Some 55% of UK employees say that too much time in meetings is getting in the way of working, according to a study of 2,000 workers by Brother. The percentage jumps to 77% for remote employees.
Further, the London School of Economics reports that unproductive meetings cost the UK £64 billion annually.
“Meetings waste a lot of time when they are unnecessary or not planned well,” says Cupps.
“Limit meetings to those with defined goals and key stakeholders – and always have an agenda and expected outcomes.”
Small reductions in the length of meetings can increase focus.
“Reduce 30-minute meetings to 25 minutes, and one-hour meetings to 50 minutes,” says Cupps.
“This small adjustment puts more urgency on the topic.”
2. Adopt rules for using email
An estimated 77% of workers in the UK are distracted by digital notifications, according to a study of 500 workers by Unily. For 31%, these distractions occur every 15 minutes. “Email overload takes up a significant amount of time each day,” says Cupps.
One solution is to adopt business-wide rules for the use of email. “Schedule email checks at specific times,” says Cupps.
He also recommends using filters to organise email better. “I personally have a customer folder that gets checked first before any of the others – then I check internal company, followed by partners, industry news and my general inbox.”
Following a 2023 study of 25 years of academic research into work-based email, academics from the University of Sussex Business School, Loughborough University and ESCP Business School, Madrid, developed a four-point framework for managing email better.
It includes:
- Clearly communicating when you’re available over email, and respecting timeframes set by others.
- Regularly checking and reviewing your inbox, and deleting, sorting and prioritising messages.
- Restricting work emails to work-focused communications.
- Being civil, courteous and considerate over work email.
3. Stop multitasking
“When you multitask, your brain is constantly switching between tasks, which can make it difficult to concentrate and may lead to mistakes,” says Cupps.
Multitasking costs British businesses one billion days a year, according to a poll by Randstad. The cure for multitasking is undertaking one task at a time – and completing it before you start the next. Key to this is creating focus blocks by dedicating distraction-free periods to deep work, says Cupps.
He recommends trying the Pomodoro technique. This means working on a single task in 25-minute intervals, broken up by brief breaks of five minutes or so. Every three intervals, a longer break of 15-30 minutes should be taken.
4. Set firm boundaries with clients
“Overcommitting to client demands or tasks outside the scope [of the agreed-upon work] can lead to burnout and diminished overall performance,” says Cupps.
Our always-on, digitally connected culture can make it difficult to set boundaries with clients, who might be tempted to call and email anytime of the day or night.
That’s why it’s important to establish parameters from the outset.
“Learning to say ‘No’ the right way is a valuable skill,” says Cupps.
“Train employees to set realistic expectations with clients, and delegate when needed to avoid overcommitment.”
For more tips, read IPA’s article on: How can accountants set better boundaries with clients?
5. Prioritise better
“Misaligned efforts occur when goals are unclear, leading to wasted time and frustration,” says Cupps. “For example, if an individual does not clearly understand the importance of prioritising, they may waste time on low-value tasks or become overwhelmed by too many tasks.”
To prevent this, workers should begin by aligning tasks with their goals. A tool, such as the Priority Matrix in Cupps’ book Time Bandit, can help, by showing workers how to determine which tasks are most urgent and important.
Fewer disruptions mean more time, less stress and greater productivity
On its own, a single disruption, such as checking email or sending a text, might not seem like much of a time waster. But, as the studies quoted have shown, these disruptions add up, significantly reducing output while increasing stress. Cupps says: “By addressing time wasters, individuals and teams can reclaim their time and achieve greater productivity.”
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