Interruptions come in many forms.

Phone calls, emails, faxes, colleagues, vendors. And once a person is interrupted, it can take as much as 30 minutes to get back on track. According to a study from the University of California, employees have an average of only 11 minutes of uninterrupted time on any given project; and they typically have 12 projects going at once. All this interruption adds up to over 10 ½ hours of unproductive time per week, says the study. So what advice does the study give to resolve this productivity loss? Close your email, shut your door, shut off your phone – at least until the next crisis strikes.