Project 366 / 193 — Interruptions, issues and staff

I’m wondering how I ever get anything done. Such is the stream of literally constant interruptions from dawn to dusk and beyond and it is driving me insane.

They say that you should schedule your day, only read e-mails at 11am and 4pm and only take phone calls between 10–11am and 3–4pm. Hello? What world are you living in? If I did that I would go out of business, no question. So how am I meant to schedule that then?

The more I recruit and delegate the more questions I get and the more staffing issues I get. Today was a prime example. One of my office staff said that they’d done all their work and what would I like them to do, so I suggested he go and help out in the warehouse as they were swamped with work. 30 minutes later he walks back in the office saying “well that didn’t work”. When I asked him why he said that the warehouse staff had been irritated that I’d send someone to help them as they felt it undermined their capability.

I stormed downstairs to the warehouse and sorted that out straight away. I mean how can that become an issue? How can one of the office guys offering to help the warehouse become a problem?

I now have a 2nd office, one where I am meant to be able to retreat to for primarily creative purposes. The problem is that literally everyone; staff, customers, delivery drivers and literally any passing person pops in to see me. Why can’t they just leave me alone? The office has 2 entrances and the other day 3 people walked in at the same time, 2 in one door and 1 on the other.

No one has the initiative and no one has make a decision on their own. And it’s not like I’ve not given the authority to do so. It’s like having another set of children.

One of the reasons I took my home office to work was because I found it literally impossible to do anything at home. The second I sat in my creative room I’d be interrupted, either by the kids or my wife. I thought I’d get some peace at work. How wrong was I.