Are you like me? Are you easily distracted from what is most important? Careful that’s a trick question! Do you get focused on your to do list, and the last thing you want is an interruption?
All interruptions are good for is putting you in a bad mood or helping you procrastinate from the real things that need to get done!
No wonder there is such a thing as a monk’s life. Hmm…
Is that how we really want to live life though? I don’t just mean giving up and living as a recluse. We know that we need and want relationships, even if it means interruptions. But do we want to be in a bad mood or never get anything done because of constant interruptions?
Is there a way for interruptions to be a good thing?
I recently watched a video interview with Bob Goff, author of Love Does: Discover a Secretly Incredible Life in an Ordinary World. I read his book a few months ago, and as I got to the end of it, I couldn’t believe what I saw. Bob put his personal cell phone number in the book! In a short section at the very end of the book entitled—Connect With Bob—he writes this:
[quote cite=”Goff, Bob (2012-05-01). Love Does: Discover a Secretly Incredible Life in an Ordinary World (p. 224). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition.”]I’ve found that the people in my life who have actually been the most influential have also been the ones who were the most available. If you ever want to talk about any of the ideas in this book that ping you, my phone number is ***-***-****. Give me a call sometime if I can be helpful.[/quote]Bob has sold 100s of thousands of copies of this book, and he invited everyone of the readers to…interrupt him. I remembering wondering how he handled those interruptions. When I watched that hour-long interview, I got to see first-hand.
What do you think those people feel when they call that number, and Bob actually answers his phone with a joyful, “Hello! This is Bob.”?
If you want to give him a call and find out, you just need to get a copy of his book!
When I am interrupted, my default reaction is, sigh, “don’t you see how busy I am?” If I don’t say it verbally, I am sure that my body language and facial expression communicates that very thing.
I do the same thing with email and phone calls. I see them as distractions and ways to knock me off my pursuit of more important tasks. I got to where I answered the phone for only a small, select group of people. I am talking about 2-3 people tops. Everyone else could just leave me a message, and I would get to them on my timetable. That communicates to everyone that I am very busy, important person, thank you very much.
But here was Bob on a video interview, and his phone rings. He looks at the interviewer and said, “excuse me, this will take just a second…” and he joyfully answers the phone not knowing who it was. He simply told them that he wanted to talk but needed for them to call back in about an hour.
What I found interesting is that the way he handled the call honored both the caller and the person he was interviewing with.
I Learned 3 Reasons For Why It’s A Good Idea To Let People Interrupt Me
- The more available I am, the more positive influence I can have on others.
- I can gage how much time I give someone based on the need.
- My availability communicates value and love.
Here is the deal…when we see interruptions as a source of frustration, people don’t get a warm, loving feeling from you. No, the exact opposite happens. We drive people away from us.
If people truly are the most valuable asset—Make Yourself Available.
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