Let me begin with apologies to Mr. Shakespeare for my post title.
Very interest post on c/net about how often the average worker is interrupted by phone calls, emails, IMs or other distractions. Since it takes about 8 uninterrupted minutes for the average person to get their brain in a creative state, the significance of the interruptions is pretty apparent. And Geoffrey Gussis at Inhouse Blog has a nice way of referring his inhouse readers to a blog that discusses the research: “Head over to take a look if you have time to spare after checking your email, voicemail (at home, at work and on your cellphone), glancing at your BlackBerry, answering IMs and reviewing the faxes that were sent to your email and also delivered on paper in your office.”
Here’s the lesson for outside counsel: Do you consciously choose the least intrusive method of communicating with your clients given the significance of what you are communicating? Phone calls are the most distracting and should be used only when you really need to interrupt your client. Of course, the converse is never true—your client should call you whenever (client conversations are a gift). Emails can be ignored until a client is ready to look at them. Just remember, your interruptions had better be worth the cost. And for clients, there is no cost to the interruption, which is always welcome.
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