Picture this: you get to work on time (because you’ve followed a well-thought-out morning routine!), you have fresh coffee just the way you like it, your computer is completely booted up and ready to get some work done, and you look over to see your neatly stacked pile of projects for the day…already prioritized because you’ve mastered your paper management skills. You’re in the zone and on your way to a very productive morning!

But then you’re interrupted by a phone call. Not thinking, you pick it up without looking at the caller ID. On the other end is the chatty receptionist wanting to tell you about her evening last night. By the time you get off the phone with her, you’ve lost eight precious minutes…plus your concentration.

How should you handle this? Do you start to ignore her phone calls and refuse to pick up next time? Do you complain to the office manager? Do you “vent” to other co-workers? No! Now it is time for you to develop your phone call management skills! Honestly, of all the skills you may master for managing your busy life, reducing stress, and increasing productivity, this one will be one of the easiest. The key here is to create some time every day that you can talk on the phone.The first step is to look at your work day and decide when you are the most and least busy. Think about a short block of time in the morning and another in the afternoon that you can dedicate to phone conversations. Are the late afternoons particularly hectic? Then perhaps shortly after lunch you can set aside some time for phone calls. You’ll need to decide how much time you need to make and receive non-urgent phone calls each day.Next, enlist the support of your colleagues. Let them know that you value their time, project help, and input, so you’ve created specific times that all of you can work over the phone. But, since they are human, they will forget what times are good for phone work. So be sure to change your voice mail message to let callers know when to call back, or when they can expect a call from you. For emergencies, have a backup method for getting through to you. For example, if you have a receptionist, you can tell your callers that in emergency situations they can contact that person, and let them know how to get through to him or her. Give the receptionist a VIP list of who should be forwarded to you regardless of time.

It will take a little practice to develop the habit of blocking times for telephone calls. Make good use of your caller ID and voice mail to help you as you build in more productivity each day!