⏱️Got a minute?
These might be the most expensive three words in your workplace. This seemingly harmless question (delivered as a desk drop-by or a Teams ping) can destroy your team’s ability to do deep work and your ability to move the needle on the big stuff.
I learned this the hard way. Early in my career as a new exec, I’d sit down at my desk in the morning, get that first ping, and before I knew it, the entire morning had vanished. Person after person would show up with their ‘quick question.’ ...And my desire to help and be a resource ended up undermining my own effectiveness.
Here’s what I eventually realized: If you don’t decide what deserves your attention, other people will decide for you.
Every got a minute is someone else deciding what deserves your focus. And if you let them, your entire day... entire quarter ...entire year becomes a series of other people’s priorities.
The real problem ultimately is that this got a minute behavior becomes a shortcut around critical thinking and planning. Instead of staff reflecting on whether something is truly urgent, crafting a clear question, or batching communication, people default to instant interruption. It’s easier to grab someone than to think through what you actually need. But that ease comes at a massive cost to everyone’s productivity.
Make the Fix
Have I convinced you to break the habit but not sure where to begin? Great, I got you. Here is a laundry list of ways I’ve tried to set (or reset) this norm at the places I work.
Leaders start here: You must admit your guilt & set the new expectation. I’m sure you have also been guilty of this got a minute behavior. When you own your contribution to the problem, people are more willing to own theirs. I named the impact, spoke to what everyone was feeling (the need for deep work time), and set a new expectation with my department heads... then follow through by modelling.
Staff start here: Ask yourself three questions before interrupting. Is this blocking my immediate work? Can I work around it? Can I write it down clearly? If not truly urgent, maintain a running list for your one-on-one or send a single, well-composed message.
Stay Curious but hold the line: When someone approaches you, ask: Is this urgent? If not, you need to resist the urge to help in the moment and redirect. Tell them to add it to your next 1-1 agenda, put it in an email, or that you’ll get back to them by end of day. But whatever you do, don’t solve it in the moment... you’ll only reinforce the behavior.
Calibrate sense of urgency. Similar to staying curious, don’t just ask is this urgent, by Why is this urgent? or Could this wait? And, if someone truly thinks they need your help, figure out the timeframe: Do they need you right now, or by end of day, or can it wait until your one-on-one?
🚗Use a Parking Lot. This is a place where you literally ‘park’ ideas. Note issues as they arise in a shared document, teams/slack thread, or meeting notes, then batch them for discussion later. As a leader I also have a parking lot for ideas that pop up as I’m working on something, to help me keep focused.
⛔Use office hours or open blocks. Set specific times (e.g., 3-4pm daily) when you’re available for drop-ins. Outside those hours, everything goes to the parking lot unless genuinely urgent.
📄Create a shared running doc for each direct report. Maintain a shared document both you and your direct report own. Both of you add items throughout the week, then work through it in your 1-on-1. You can grab mine here, if you need a place to start.
❓Batch your questions. Keep a note on your phone or your notebook of things you need from each person, then send one message with 3-4 items instead of four separate interruptions. (Or use your shared documents/Wait until your 1-1s)
⏱️Time-block your calendar for deep work. Literally put ‘Deep work, no meetings’ on your calendar. Treat it like any other meeting. It’s not rude; it’s professional.
⭐And finally, most simply, you just have to get comfortable saying no. It only gets easier through practice.
A quick word on being ‘approachable.’
I know that people worry that setting boundaries will make them seem uncooperative or unapproachable (especially as a woman). Totally fair, and I’ve experienced it myself. Here’s what’ I’ve seen in the field though: if everyone understands the expectation, and its set as a team value, it’s easier to enforce without this negative repercussion. It is critical that leaders actually lead this culture shift by setting and holding the line with the whole team, reminding people proactively over a period of months, and immediately addressing out-of-sync behavior.
Final Note
It will take time to calibrate your team, but this is about protecting attention so deep work can happen. The habit of got a minute? reveals a team that hasn’t established communication protocols or learned to distinguish urgent from important. Fix this, and you’ll reclaim not just your morning... but your team’s ability to do work that actually matters.
This is most definately an issue for helpful, ‘doer’ workers.
It takes a while to get out of that default setting of being a helpful team player and a bit more ‘self centred’ for want of a better word.
I’ve been there, I enjoy helping people but in the past it got to the point that people would ask me for confirmation even when they already knew what to do, and I was enforcing their behaviour.
I find it’s better to shut the question down with a quick response, because if you ask “is it urgent?” Or “why is it urgent?” and they explain, then you’ve got this back and forth where you’re trying not to take on the responsibility but they could be giving you more reasons why they need your help.
Helping us heal our relationship to time... yesssss!