Comments on: Introvert at work! Please don’t interrupt!

By: Two Truths and a Lie About Introverts | Engage Your Strengths

Two Truths and a Lie About Introverts | Engage Your Strengths — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 09:16:48 +0000

[...] or Instant Message (IM) and let them know you’re hoping to drop by in about half an hour. Don’t just drop in because they were sitting quietly at their desk. You’re relationship will be better for [...]

By: Sameer

Sameer — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 05:14:55 +0000

“Did you have a good weekend?” the person asks.
“Sure, thanks. What’s up?”
“Oh nothing. I just saw you swimming so deep down there so I wanted to stick my head in and say hi.”
WHAT??

Hahahaha…..That’s a nice joke.

By: How to Deal With an Introvert — Introvert Zone

How to Deal With an Introvert — Introvert Zone — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 02:41:15 +0000

[...] That said, how do you deal with the person who does not respond to all of your good-time, free-flowing, high-level energy? Or doesn’t want to get into the National Enquirer type conversations… [...]

By: How to kill interruptions and prevent new ones from hatching — Introvert Zone

How to kill interruptions and prevent new ones from hatching — Introvert Zone — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:39:48 +0000

[...] kill interruptions and prevent new ones from hatching Unless we seriously have nothing to do, introverts hate interruptions when they’re trying to work. Interruptions not only temporarily take us away from the task we’re trying to complete, they [...]

By: cb

cb — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 23:28:51 +0000

Thank you so much!!! I started an introvert blog last fall then I killed it because I thought it might make me “focus too much” on being an introvert and start to resent extroverts too much. That hasn’t been the case at all, of course. It has introduced me to a wonderful community of folks who love to drop in here and talk and help each other. I can’t believe I lived four decades without ever knowing that all the little “odd” things about me were shared by lots of other people and added up to one thing – I am an introvert. Nice to have you here, Hermit Loner!

By: hermit loner

hermit loner — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 23:10:38 +0000

Christie, this is hands down the best introvert blog I’ve come across yet. I’m really enjoying reading the posts and comments. I had to chuckle at what you said about the guy who put up the ‘busy’ sign. That’s exactly what would happen where I work, too. I am also in IT, I’m a server admin which means working on a team – I was happier as a desktop technician doing my own thing!
Bella, I have a great pair of noise dampening earbuds but they do such a good job that as you said, I get startled when someone walks up and starts talking. Also, I get snide remarks from coworkers when I use them because everyone seems to think that I need to be ALWAYS available, be it for work or non-work stuff. The only thing that is ever going to help me is my own office but that’s not going to happen anytime soon.
hermit loner´s last blog ..Let us come to you! (But, would we?)

By: Bella

Bella — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 12:06:22 +0000

I often wore headphones when deep in concentration, many times with no music on, I was just hoping to send the signal “please don’t interrupt”, which is what that would mean to me but alas…all I did was get startled out of my skin when people would suddenly appear out of nowhere and start talking!

We had an open cubicle design…no walls between them. It was hellish. Of course the people who make those decisions have offices, and no concept of what it would be like to try to be productive in that setup.

By: cb

cb — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 11:51:14 +0000

Thanks for the kind words, Hermit Loner!

Isn’t that a shame – you’re great to talk to and of course a great listener, as an introvert, so everyone wants to come and talk to you. I’m totally with ya on the fact that once we start out so nice and accomodating, then when we try to pull back a bit and show that we’re busy, people resent it! When we were in cubicles, I had one coworker who put a sign on the outside of his cube stating that he was very busy and asking others not to stop by, but that made even more spectators come by to see the sign. The person who had the greatest success with not being “visited” kept his back to his cubicle opening, staring at his screen intently, even more intently when he could hear people approaching. His hope was that the people hoping for chitchat would turn to one of the others of us – and unfortunately he was correct.

Thanks so much for your comment – and please keep coming back to Introvert Zone!

By: Hermit Loner

Hermit Loner — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 21:35:32 +0000

Fantastic post and great comments. I am incredibly frustrated at work most of the time, because of the constant interruptions. For some reason, people just love to come and talk to (at!!) me, and I go home most days cranky and exhausted from the strain of it. Coworkers think they’re just being friendly – they don’t understand me at all. My fondest work wish is for an office of my own with a door I can close. I really related to Jennie’s comment about the switch from ‘happy Jennie’ to ‘bad tempered Jennie’ – that happens to me, as well. People seem to think I’m rude when I let them see that I’m not happy to be interrupted – but it never seems to occur to them that perhaps THEY are being rude by interrupting in the first place! So I’m a bit short-tempered lately. Wish I could telecommute!
Hermit Loner´s last blog ..Let us come to you! (But, would we?)

By: cb

cb — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 16:40:24 +0000

Yes! That used to happen to me all the time when I was at a company where we were all in cubicles. If companies really wanted their workers to be productive, perhaps they should provide each person with a quiet place to work. People would stop by to ask the most inane things they could have found out for themselves. One woman stopped to interrupt me one time saying she walking across the building “to find out if Jim is here yet.” Gee, it’s too bad no one has ever invented a device she could have used from her own desk to determine if Jim is here yet!

Bella thanks so much for your comments – and I hope you’ll keep coming back to Introvert Zone!