People frequently ask me, “How can I eliminate telephone interruptions in my work at home business?

”Well, when you have a work at home business, you can avoid some, but not all, of the distractions of a more public workspace. Nonetheless, you will still have to work diligently to eliminate telephone interruptions.  

The telephone is arguably still going to be the single most distracting thing you need to deal with. Here are five suggestions (you can implement in your work at home business today) for getting off the phone in a timely manner and taming the telecommunications monster.

1.    Make sure you have Caller ID. This inexpensive feature is available on most phones today, and it falls under the category of “how did we live without it”. Just knowing who’s on the other end of the line will help you decide instantly which calls you really do need to take. Of course, the problem is that our own nice nature can sometimes get the better of us. So:

2.    Use an answering machine. Proper use of a telephone answering machine will help you eliminate telephone interruptions in your work at home business almost immediately. I hope you are not one of those people who think your machine is only meant to be turned on if you leave the house. Repeat this: “The telephone makes a great servant, but a terrible master.” It shouldn’t control your life.  Turn that machine on and get to work. By the way, when purchasing an answering machine, make sure you can turn its volume down. Then you won’t hear the callers while they’re leaving a message.  Of course, if you want to listen in to make sure that there is no real emergency, then leave the volume up.

3.    Make and return calls at set times each day.  It’s very important that you schedule blocks of time when you can return telephone calls. The first reason is obvious: if you don’t make the necessary calls, you won’t have a work at home business very long! You have clients and colleagues you need to be in communication with. But the second reason is because you will work better (thinking less about who just left the flashing light on your machine) if you know that you have a plan to attend to it soon. You’ll need a schedule that suits you.  Follow this procedure to eliminate telephone interruptions: Try starting with three half hour blocks for making calls (i) before you start work in the morning, (ii) after lunch, and (iii) just before you call it a day.

4.    Have someone else answer the phone for you. Not everyone can afford a personal assistant, but ask yourself who is nearby that could give you some relief from telephone distractions? Do you have a teenager who can help you when they come home from school? Put a telephone line in their room and for a couple of hours while they’re doing homework, they can take messages for you.  Pay them a few bucks.  They’ll appreciate it a great deal, and the quiet will be worth every penny for you.
5.    Encourage people to contact you by email. Assure them that it’s the fastest and most reliable way to get your attention. Email can be a distraction in itself, but the beauty of it is that you can log out and not have it interrupt you. You deal with it when you choose to get back online (again, at planned times). So, there are five solutions you can implement today. Managing interruptions isn’t difficult, but it does take discipline.

You now know how to eliminate telephone interruptions in your work at home business.  Make your plan now, and stick to it!