How to Handle a Distracting Boss

Here’s how to stay focused when your boss isn’t.

See if you can relate to Sarah.

She’s a software engineer who loves her job — except for her manager, Tom. To Tom, everything is a crisis worthy of interrupting Sara, even when she’s deeply focused on her work.

One morning, while Sarah is coding a critical feature, Tom calls and asks her to drop everything to help with an urgent report for the CMO. Sarah complies, but by the end of the day, she hasn’t dedicated much time to any of the tasks she planned to focus on.

It wouldn’t frustrate her so much if this were a one-time situation. However, Tom’s frequent interruptions keep her from doing her best work.

Does that sound familiar?

I’ve written extensively about how managers and employees can work well together; check out “Managers, Stop Distracting Your Employees” and “‘Just Say No’ Is Bad Advice.”

But what if you’re not in a leadership position?

What if you meticulously follow the four steps from my book Indistractable to control your attention and reclaim your focus — yet your boss hasn’t read…