If I ask for a minute to do something and you keep talking to me, distracting me, and you don’t let me do that thing I need to do, then don’t be surprised when it isn’t done! That’s just how life works.

Sometimes we need to carefully focus on a task and if you don’t allow for that focus, it’s not going to get done, or worse, it’s going to get done wrong.

This happened to me some years ago. People kept talking to me, distracting me, asking me to do things when I had asked for a moment of quiet focus. The real frustration here is that those things they were asking me to do could have all been requested in advance. So now, go ahead and add frustrated irritation to the equation. Not only can you not focus, but now you are irritated because their lack of planning becomes your problem. So the process I was trying to perform failed, and then they wondered what went wrong.

Did you know that research shows multitasking as we label it today is actually not ideal? I’ve read several reports indicating that people function best when focused on one task at a time. It’s interesting because even as I write this, I can imagine some manager thinking, “Maybe you just aren’t able to do this job well enough and we should find someone else.” That’s a common perspective nowadays. The expectation is that you should be able to handle many things at once, and if you can’t, that’s seen as a problem.

In any case, afterward, to benefit myself in the future, I was testing and trying to figure out what went wrong in the process. During the review, I found the error quickly. It was so basic, so simple, but at that moment, with all those distractions and the inability to focus, I simply couldn’t see it.

Multitasking can be useful, but if someone asks you for a moment to perform a task that requires their full attention, it’s important to stop talking to them, stop asking for things, and allow them that focus. Then, and only then, should you bring up your concerns or requests.

Since that experience years ago, I decided that I need to set boundaries when I need to focus. Otherwise, I could miss something simple like I did that day. Of course, do this professionally and respectfully, but do whatever you need to do to reach your work goal.

Just give me a minute!