interrup-
Work today is a scene from a Scooby-Doo episode, one where I’m trying to track people down to extract information from them for last-minute projects dumped on me, and succeeding only in going to their office to find them missing, and having them stop by my desk just as I’ve left to look for them in another location, etc., etc. CHARMING. I feel like shouting, “And I’d have gotten all my work done if it wasn’t for you darn meddling coworkers!”
This is the aspect of my job I do not enjoy. There is absolutely no control over my workday. Jason will sometimes ask me how my day is looking as we’re getting ready to head to work, and I’ll startle him by laughing crazily and saying, “Well, it looks all right, but it never ends up that way.”
A clear work calendar suddenly fills with unexpected meetings, maybe an hour-long conference call or four, and always, always, last-minute proposals, resulting in me pinballing my way from meeting to meeting, adding more items to my to-do list, and getting zero time to complete anything. On the rare days I am actually slow at work, I still work like mad on projects that aren’t due for weeks because if I don’t, something will come up at the last minute anyway. It’s very frustrating, and I don’t deal with it well because I am an organized person and I expect (unrealistically, it seems) for others to be the same, especially when their procrastination affects me.
But tomorrow is my presentation (thanks for the advice, you guys!) and it is very telling that I am thrilled to be giving it. I’ve practiced enough that I won’t need my notes, I will be out of the office, away from interruptions, and if the price to pay for that freedom is public speaking, that is A-OK with me.
Do you get interrupted constantly at your job? (All moms raise your hand!)
UGH! At my job we have pagers. That we are REQUIRED to have on us AT ALL TIMES. My boss is a big fan of “checking in on me” so even when I find places to hide from everyone else and actually get work done…I still get paged approximately every 20 minutes. I kind of want to ask my boss how productive I’m supposed to be if you keep giving me new/changing my current project scopes. ARGH. I have yet to feel like I have accomplished anything. It’s terrible haha.
Comment by Sarah — March 9, 2010 @ 4:31 pm
OH yeah…and I’m NOT a doctor so the whole pager thing seems a bit overkill…
Comment by Sarah — March 9, 2010 @ 4:31 pm
OMG EFF today. I just wanted to finish this f___ing shopping cart cover. I wanted one thing to work. ONE THING. And I succeeded in breaking the NEEDLE off my SEWING MACHINE, the baby cried and whined and would not tell me what he wanted and took random naps and then didn’t nap at all and then I broke the machine again and there it sits, one leg hole almost done and the other one vomiting batting. I went to sleep off the headache I had gotten and woke up perplexed that I had gotten to sleep. And I wasn’t woken up by crying over the monitor. It was like one of those great days where you have a totally renewing smoke break and go in and complete everything you need to complete for the week
Comment by parkingathome — March 9, 2010 @ 4:49 pm
I used to have the same type of situation. I eventually gave up and just went with the chaos and meetings all day, and then started “working” after everyone else had gone home. I don’t recommend this mechanism for coping with it, by the way, as it just means that you’re working two jobs. Ugh.
The point I meant to make was: I totally understand what you mean, and, UGH.
Comment by Kate — March 9, 2010 @ 4:57 pm
Good luck tomorrow!
Comment by Dr. Mom — March 9, 2010 @ 5:17 pm
This is one of the best things about working from home. It used to drive me NUTS that I would JUST be getting into an editing groove and then someone would ALWAYS interrupt me, or the person in the next office would start having a loud phone conversation, or whatever. Now I have peace and quiet and I LOVE IT.
Comment by Jess — March 9, 2010 @ 9:56 pm
YES! Especially on Tuesdays, which are my busiest days. And no one seems to realize that if they interrupt me to ask 5 questions, I can’t get my work done.
Comment by Shelly — March 10, 2010 @ 8:12 am
Constantly! CONSTANTLY. “Do this! I need this! What about this budget? This proposal? I’ve waited until the last minute and need this $3 million budget in an hour! Help! Am on fire!”
I have really, really considered adding a line to my electronic signature: A lack of planning on YOUR part does not constitute an emergency on MINE.
Comment by nonsoccermom — March 10, 2010 @ 2:33 pm