Don’t interrupt me! I’m thinking!

Don’t interrupt me! I’m thinking!

Hi there.
Thanks for popping in.
Been spinning like a top here today.

Not helped by constant interruption. You know when you really need to concentrate on something? When something really requires your undivided attention? 
But the phone rings, the email pings, the doorbell dinglings, and it takes forever to get back to where you were on your train of thought. I am sure there are plenty of you who know exactly what I mean. Your focus is broken, and it takes time to re-engage with your thought process. 
In fact, the project takes longer, and there is a risk of error, so you have to go over it again and again. Sheesh.

Interruption can’t be avoided really, unless you crawl to the back of a remote cave, and don’t tell anybody where you’re going!

But I do have a lot more influence over it than I am admitting.

For one, I can set the phone to silent.

I can leave a message saying “I am tied up at the moment, 
but will be able to chat between Christmas and New Year. 
Would you like to make an appointment?”

I can set the pinging to silent too. (Only just figured that one out!)

I do come home and work from here if it’s crucial, 
which I did today. B u t   t h e y   f o u n d   m e …..
And you really can’t tell people to sling their hook 
when they are just trying to do their jobs, can you?

Do you work with music on?
I can’t ! Way too much distraction.
I know a lot of people can. 
Suppose it depends what work they are doing.
In my old life I used to do a lot of translation work.
German to English mostly. Well believe me when I tell you the LAST thing you need when you are translating from one language to another is music! 
I recently invested in a really expensive set of head phones which block out noise. But I just cover my ears with them! 
I don’t actually plug them in anywhere! The lead goes into my back pocket!

On the other hand, if I’m doing something which doesn’t require much focus or concentration, then I LOVE listening to Stephen Fry read me the Complete Works of Sherlock Holmes.
Only another 500 hours to go….

It’s a busy, noisy life in Barbaraland, it sure is.
But I wouldn’t swop with a single soul. Nobody.
Nobody I know, and nobody I don’t know. 
I am ok with my lot.
It could always be better.
But it could be one hellahellahella of a lot worse.

How about you?

Time to switch off for a few hours. 
No headphones, no Stephen Fry, no work.
Just sit in the garden with Dave and listen to the birds.
That’ll do me just fine.

Love & Hugs,
Barb
xxx

34 thoughts on “Don’t interrupt me! I’m thinking!

  1. I work in the quiet – can't concentrate on what I am doing if I do. Lol. I would quite like to sit in the garden with Dave but I am sure he would rather be with you. Lol xxx

  2. Hi Barbara, I know what you mean.
    Since I have been retired I am more busy just doing things I could not do when I worked.
    I know running a business is hard but you have amazing staff to make it all worth while.
    Glad you have had time to sit in the garden and chill out .
    you do an amazing job.
    just love Groovi, there are some amazing people out there and very talented I look at Groovi worldwide
    and see the wonderful things people are producing all of this since you brought us the Groovi system.
    Thanks a lot.
    Lynn xx

  3. crikey I had a day like that too! Everyone wanted me to do something or sort something all at the same time, never mind the work I was meant to be doing. Never mind 4 days to do and counting down for the retreat. Wxx

  4. I can't even craft with music or the radio on for long. The chatter on the radio gets on my nerves after a while. If I start off with a disc on and I manage to keep it on until it finishes it's doubtful that I'll put another one on. We've got developers in next door and they have been there for 5 weeks so far. As if the banging, drilling etc isn't enough, they have the radio blaring and several nights they have forgotten to turn it off so have to put up with it all night too. Hopefully they will finish soon. Looking forward to some peace and quiet. All sent to try us.xxx

  5. Hi to all you lovely bloggy friends, hope you have had a good day. Much better weather here today, sunshine all afternoon and more comfortable temperatures.xxx

    1. Hi Pam,
      Hope you're ok and that your back isn't giving you too much grief. Better weather here today too and NO rain!! Love and hugs Alison xxx

  6. Hi there, I too had to have quiet when I was working, a lot of the offices had radios going, if I put a cd in the computer inevitably I had to stop it as I needed quiet to work despite the constant interruptions I got. Now I like to craft along to an audio book or any radio that is talking to me. Hope you have a lovely evening in the garden. Xx

  7. I know that feeling normally but I have had a lovely day we spend day by the seaside stroll down the prom fish chips cannot beat cod at the coast and followed by those fresh cooked donuts nice and hot haven't had any for years was a great day back home tomorrow but do miss family but nice rest ful time for couple days xx

  8. If I'm reading I need quiet, but for most other jobs I like to do two things at once. Today it was ironing and watching Wimbledon, sometimes it's baking and listening to the radio, or crafting and half watching TV. My favourite is decorating and singing power ballads at the top of my lungs – well, I enjoy it, can't say whether it's good for anyone else!!! Enjoy your time in the garden x

  9. Sorry to say that I was late home , after a 4 hour delay on the A14 Peterborough today….knock on effect of a big pile up earlier in the day… I hope that those involved are OK… What is normally a 5 hour round trip turned into over 9 hours…Oh well , I got to listen to a lot of music (loud) and a couple of podcasts ! Made some phone calls, wrote some emails and, all from the car with no interruptions… Eee but its good to be home.. xx

  10. Hi Barb,
    I'm one of those people who has to have music on! I have a pair of expensive Bluetooth headphones that I wear when I'm crafting or reading linked to my iPod. Love them! Unfortunately they don't work in the gym so I have an ordinary pair for there. Have to put a DVD on when I'm ironing too. Hope you've had a good evening sitting in the garden. Love and hugs Alison xx

    1. Hi bloggy friends,
      Hope today has been good for you. Weather lovely here today ( finally). Haven't commented for a few days as I got a migraine that knocked me for six!! Even missed the Nadal /Muller game! Think it must've been the weather that triggered it. Anyway ok today thankfully. My friend took me to the cinema to see the Mummy with Tom Cruise which was a load of nonsense really but we enjoyed it – special effects were brilliant. Back to pool tomorrow trying for 40 lengths! Love and hugs to all, Alison xxx

    2. Hi Alison, good to hear you are feeling better, the weather has been quite close here lately so you are probably right about it causing a migraine. Enjoy your swim tomorrow. Sending hugs xx

  11. Well having had four kids I am well used to noise, add a couple of friends for each of them and you can imagine it was not a peaceful place to be. If I suggested that maybe for once they would like to play at said friends house well the answer was" oh we can't do that his mum is having a rest ". Still at least I knew where they were. I do enjoy some quiet time though, lovely to just settle with a good book. Ihope you managed your work in the end. x

  12. As I work on my own in a high security office no windows and 2doors you can only open one at a time the first thing I do is put radio 2on ,think I'd go insane with complete silence … Still off this week getting ready for my daughter's wedding on Saturday spending lots of lovely time with family and in the garden when it's not raining ..

  13. Well I have done p all today towards my DT samples. I've got a piece of work on my desk but I got distracted today, then when I got back to crafting, it was to paint and decorate a little shelving unit to house the little teddy bears my son bought for me over the years. I don't usually bother with bits of bric-a-brac but these are sentimental, and needed a new home. Anyway, back to it tomorrow except when I go for a cheeky belated birthday lunch with my besties.

  14. I know exactly where you are coming from. At work, trying to do 20 lists or more for the next day, requires my utmost attention. I do not get it, people come to the desk, ring up etc etc. I end up a wreck.
    Today, I picked all sorts of goodies from the allotment and listening to the birds. Then a busy day and could not get to the computer because Husband was on it for hours. Then he shouts"She who must be obeyed is there" -Barbara's blog – a must, everyday even late at night.
    Sleep well everyone. Tomorrow is another day.
    Love Anne (Reading)

  15. I've always got the radio on in the house. Today my day didn't go as planned. I went for a walk along the beach and saw the dolphins. I then met a friend who asked me to go out in his boat which I duly did. There was no wind so we motored out, then turned off the motor and just floated. The only noise we could here was the occasional splash of water from two seals messing around. The silence was fab.

  16. I need something to distract me from ironing… usually crafty TV or catch up on recorded stuff but love nothing more than to escape to my little craft room for some peace and quiet. Good to hear you had a little 'me' time after the madness and mayhem…even better it was 'we' time spent in the garden with Dave who sounds like he had a 'hellish' day too xxx

  17. Hi Barbara
    I hope you've had a wonderful evening just chilling. My husband has days like yours, he finds places to hide at work so he can get on without interruption but eventually someone finds him so he comes home to work – they can only find him on the phone there! I like to read in silence but like to have music on to cook and tv on to iron. I used to type governor meeting minutes up with the tv on and would always tell the chair of governors to check carefully in case I typed what they were saying on tv rather than what I had written! I hope tomorrow is a better day.
    Love Diane xxx

  18. Most of the day there is something on, music or telly. I like it quiet sometimes but not for too long, but believe it or not I find the best time for crafting is at night when hubby has gone up to bed and all is quiet, creative juices flow better then. Hope you had a lovely evening in the garden relaxing and listening to the birdies.

  19. Morning, I like to listen to music when I craft but it has to be songs I know as I like to sing along. If its a new CD I have to listen to it a few times before I can have it on and concentrate on my crafting otherwise I'm concentrating on the lyrics instead! The radio is on indoors most of the day, the only time I sit in silence at home is when I'm in the garden, then I love listening to the birds. Xx

  20. I did not get to visit yesterday, as I spent the evening with a sick friend, which allowed her husband to go to his choir practice with less worry. We had a good and productive evening with just chatting over Groovi (which I introduced her to last week) while I redraw my picture ready to paint. If I am on my own, I usually have some kind of music which helps to relax and keep me focussed. I always have music on while I am driving, apart from very tricky parts of the journey, usually something I can sing along to. I came back from my very first retreat at Crowborough so full of new ideas that I was driving round the narrow country lanes of Worcestershire, after picking up the dogs, and singing the Hallelujah Chorus at the top of my voice. I would've to sit and listen to the birds,but, sadly, my house backs onto a busy dual carriageway and so many trees have been felled that even the dawn chorus has shrunk to a mini squeak. We have lost so many bird species over the last five years locally, just down to all little bits of ground being cleared and built on. Hope you enjoyed your relaxing in the garden with Dave. It sounds a perfect way of winding down at the end of a day, or even sitting with breakfast at the start of a day. xxx Maggie

  21. Yep struggling to get some uninterrupted time myself too, today I have left a trail of unfinished jobs and paperwork all around the house because I start one thing and another comes up!!!! Even my trip to the beach ended up sorting out a little problem with an injured Dog and a very hefty Vets Bill !!!! Even my kids say Mam leave it and just craft!!!! Well I can't craft, not until everything is clear and sorted so that I can blank out my mind!!! – well where did all that come from? Xx

  22. Hello Barb, your thoughts on this Blog post, are exactly how I feel right now. Thank you for this, and in many ways you are like a therapist, your words are soothing and make a person think. Take care. Bx

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