Interruptions

A study by Dartmouth University listed four kinds of interruptions: distractions, intrusions, planned breaks, and discrepancies. Being called away from my work station often leads to at least three or four more distractions before I head back to the computer and try to remember what I was doing and how I was doing it. A friend passed along the statistic that said we are typically interrupted once every three minutes, either by external or internal sources! That’s a lot of stopping and starting! Which is one reason I don’t usually leave work the minute the whistle blows like Fred Flintstone did in the introduction of every cartoon, it’s amazing how the stress level goes down a notch and the concentration increases once the phones stop ringing and the front door is closed. Some studies show that it can take up to 15 minutes to regain one’s track of thoughts after an interruption adding to huge losses in productivity. There are tips to help minimize interruptions: close the door, schedule times when you are available, stand up and remain standing when someone comes into your office, put something in the visitor’s chair so that it discourages people from sitting, look at your watch, or say “How can you sum up what you need from me?” Some of the suggestions would be hard for me to enforce, although I have been known to start expanding my work surface to any open chair, but more from lack of desk space or organization rather than to discourage visitors. Productivity and peace cannot be compared, but it takes a certain amount of calmness to encourage productivity and creativity. Ideally one does not have to give up courtesies to try and gain a sense of control and centeredness.

“Peace it does not mean to be in a place where there is no noise, trouble or hard work. It means to be in the midst of those things and still be calm in your heart.” – unknown

My prayer for the congregation?

Dear God, What were you saying? You know how flighty and erratic we can be. We have good intentions and great desire to follow your call, but we get distracted by minor distractions like phone calls and meetings or by large intrusions such as illness or family crises. God of forgiveness, can you repeat that last thought? Let us make planned interruptions to our day to return our thoughts to you, to regain focus on your will for our lives, and to recompose and calm our heart. Let us be aware of the discrepancies between the things we do and the things we ought to do, and between the noise of the world and the peace found in you. Dear God, feel free to interrupt us! Let the sunrise suspend our morning to reflect on your glory. Let the laughter of a child disrupt our attitude of irritation and impatience. Let the unraveling of a seed pod disorder our priorities of immediacy. Let the needs of the world dislocate our inward spiral of importance. Let the prayers of our heart override the interruptions we allow in our relationship with you. Let us know your peace. Amen.