> We really need to get past this smug idea that tech work is uniquely difficult in a way that no one else can understand.
When you think what you do is special, you will only look to other 'special' people for solutions to your problems. If you understand that many disciplines have the same problems, you can crib ideas from them. It's a major reason I push people to have extracurriculars.
Most of my crisis management skills came from volunteering at public events for clubs. Your kitchen renovation guy could fill a book on how to manage customer expectations.
> Instead, communicate like peers: "Sorry, I'm in the middle of something important. Can you come back at lunch time?"
> Or: "Is this urgent? I can't really stop what I'm doing right now, but I can stop by your office around 3PM. Will that work?"
You're trying to avoid dumping brain state, so the more open ended the question is, the more state you lose. They start bringing up related facts that your brain expects to hold onto in order to fulfill social obligations, and each fact wipes out more of your train of thought. Asking the person if it's urgent invites them to monologue. Your smarter peers will see these questions as equivalent, the rest of your coworkers won't. Don't ask them to decide. Make them decide.
"Can you come back in X minutes/at time Y?" is short. Invites little commentary. If the answer is, "No you're late for a customer meeting" or "The building is on fire can't you hear the alarm?" then you were going to be interrupted anyway. We don't want to debate the relative importance of these two tasks. If we do then the interrupter wins, whether they deserve to or not.
When you think what you do is special, you will only look to other 'special' people for solutions to your problems. If you understand that many disciplines have the same problems, you can crib ideas from them. It's a major reason I push people to have extracurriculars.
Most of my crisis management skills came from volunteering at public events for clubs. Your kitchen renovation guy could fill a book on how to manage customer expectations.
> Instead, communicate like peers: "Sorry, I'm in the middle of something important. Can you come back at lunch time?" > Or: "Is this urgent? I can't really stop what I'm doing right now, but I can stop by your office around 3PM. Will that work?"
You're trying to avoid dumping brain state, so the more open ended the question is, the more state you lose. They start bringing up related facts that your brain expects to hold onto in order to fulfill social obligations, and each fact wipes out more of your train of thought. Asking the person if it's urgent invites them to monologue. Your smarter peers will see these questions as equivalent, the rest of your coworkers won't. Don't ask them to decide. Make them decide.
"Can you come back in X minutes/at time Y?" is short. Invites little commentary. If the answer is, "No you're late for a customer meeting" or "The building is on fire can't you hear the alarm?" then you were going to be interrupted anyway. We don't want to debate the relative importance of these two tasks. If we do then the interrupter wins, whether they deserve to or not.