If you’ve got a big workload staring you in the face this week, it can be wise to hide somewhere that you can focus and push without the distraction of others.

While an excellent strategy in principle, first thing Monday morning might not be the best time to implement it in practice.

To hide away before checking in with the others on the team leaves an unnecessary communication gap. Someone might need a decision from you before they can take their work forward. Someone else may need some information out of your office. A third might want to coordinate an upcoming event or meeting with your calendar.

Checking in with others before you lock yourself away is a practical vehicle for communicating that you are a part of the team even while you have something to do alone.

Checking in with others doesn’t need to be time consuming. You will want to communicate three simple things:

1. Greet with sincere words of interest in how they’re doing and what their week ahead looks like.
2. Inform that you plan to work alone until 3:00 p.m. or so in order to “focus and push” on a project, and that their understanding and support would be appreciated.
3. Ask if there’s anything they need from you before you “disappear” for a while.

Loving Monday is easier for everyone when we make the effort to acknowledge that others’ work is as important as our own.

This entry was posted on Monday, March 23rd, 2009 at 6:37 am and is filed under Loving Monday. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.