[NF] Do you get annoyed by interruptions?

[cacaia]

I work at a school and my office is open to the classroom. People often come in and want to talk. I am really happy when they ask for advice, etc etc, but sometimes I.Just.Want.To.Be.Alone!
People usually, as on cue, will come in more often on these days and I will have to force a smile and grin and bear it. Sometimes I'm in the middle of writing an email or reading an interesting article.
Externally, I always act kind. Internally I'm screaming- please leave me alone! And then my internal self feels guilty, because people come in to share happiness and / or problems they trust me with, and I feel so honored about that....
Is this also a struggle for you? Do you feel equally happy people seek you out and also pretty damn annoyed you don't get time to reflect?

 

[Coriolis]

I absolutely abhor interruptions, especially when reading, writing, or doing other work that requires mental focus. Interrupting me while I am cooking - not a big deal. I feel no guilt for my negative attitude toward this, though I might feel slight remorse if it leads me to be short with an interrupter, as I sometimes can be. But then I'm not an NF. I have no problem telling people "I would like to hear/see this, but later, when I have time to give it proper attention." In your situation, I would try to carve out some interruption-free time during the day, say by closing your door for awhile.

 

[Jaguar]

I approach it with humor/sarcasm.

 

[cacaia]

I absolutely abhor interruptions, especially when reading, writing, or doing other work that requires mental focus. Interrupting me while I am cooking - not a big deal. I feel no guilt for my negative attitude toward this, though I might feel slight remorse if it leads me to be short with an interrupter, as I sometimes can be. But then I'm not an NF. I have no problem telling people "I would like to hear/see this, but later, when I have time to give it proper attention." In your situation, I would try to carve out some interruption-free time during the day, say by closing your door for awhile.

I truly admire you Ts, especially because you can just out and say it- I choke on my words when I try to tell people that later I'll give them attention, but not now (adults, that is...children, not so much, ha)

 

[Peter Deadpan]

Y E S S S S S .

 

[cascadeco]

I absolutely abhor interruptions, especially when reading, writing, or doing other work that requires mental focus. Interrupting me while I am cooking - not a big deal. I feel no guilt for my negative attitude toward this, though I might feel slight remorse if it leads me to be short with an interrupter, as I sometimes can be. But then I'm not an NF. I have no problem telling people "I would like to hear/see this, but later, when I have time to give it proper attention." In your situation, I would try to carve out some interruption-free time during the day, say by closing your door for awhile.

I can relate to that; it may be a skill I've learned in the past decade or so, though, and like you I don't have any qualms at this point just matter of factly stating things in that manner, like 'I'm sorry I can't do this now but how about in 2 hours? Or etc'. Don't feel guilty at all.

I guess [MENTION=37308]cacaia[/MENTION] I'm not sure what is 'allowed' in your work environment / what the expectations are for your job role? I'm assuming there's no door you can shut and people can just walk up as they please / there aren't any hard boundaries you can draw for portions of the day? I think I have a different disposition from you in that if I don't really want to talk, I kind of 'project' that outwards / don't *really* engage with people/ give them many openings; I mean I don't want to be mean to people and if they are super excited I'm not going to just immediately cut them off, but I'll definitely cut them off if it goes too long, and that's when I'd just say 'hey, I have a lot of stuff to do, sorry.. maybe we can chat later' . But since it sounds like you simultaneously love that interaction but also need your space, I'm not sure what to suggest if you don't want to be more direct.

Me and interruptions in general -- it depends, like most things. If I'm not super immersed/ on a 'mission' to get something done, it's usually not a big deal.

 

[Yuurei]

I hate being interrupted but mostly because everyone else will lose thier shit at me for intterrupting them while they casually intterupt me constantly. Like they do not think that my time or what I am doing is as important as thiers.

 

[cacaia]

= I'm not sure what is 'allowed' in your work environment / what the expectations are for your job role? I'm assuming there's no door you can shut and people can just walk up as they please / there aren't any hard boundaries you can draw for portions of the day? I think I have a different disposition from you in that if I don't really want to talk, I kind of 'project' that outwards / don't *really* engage with people/ give them many openings; I mean I don't want to be mean to people and if they are super excited I'm not going to just immediately cut them off, but I'll definitely cut them off if it goes too long, and that's when I'd just say 'hey, I have a lot of stuff to do, sorry.. maybe we can chat later' . But since it sounds like you simultaneously love that interaction but also need your space, I'm not sure what to suggest if you don't want to be more direct.

You got it....no door whatsoever.
I'll be working at my computer and my super Extraverted coworker will pop in while she's getting things for her class and look over my shoulder and talk her head off. Today she wasn't there but her sub was, and I think the sub was kinda lonely because she wouldn't even stop talking to take a breath. And, of course, I kept setting things up for my classes while trying to do my best to be nice to her...I really just wanted to give everyone the death stare today and just be alone. And I totally would if I was younger and a student, even in college I would do that. Alas, this is a luxury I can no longer afford. I mean, don't get me wrong, I love talking to them. Just not today. Not some days. I guess this cannot be good for my stress levels....

 

[Earl Grey]

Oh, absolutely. If it does need my attention I usually ask the person to wait while I wrap my things up.
If not, in a work environment, I'm usually pretty cold so if I dismiss someone they aren't really surprised and do leave me alone like, "Yeah, Ixaerus is like that."

 

[Dreamer]

Unless you catch me working frantically to meet a deadline or in the middle of running around trying to finish a bunch of chores, I typically only actually get irritated if you only talk about boring stuff to me like how the snack bar ran out of mustard for your dog and you were forced to make a decision between mayonnaise or just eat it plain. Like, REALLY?? You felt THAT was so important you had to waste a few minutes of my life, expending my mental energy trying to maintain composure...because of THAT?! Serious, people seem to bring that junk up in conversation and all I can think of is, you know, I’m perfectly fine just sitting here in silence.

But, honestly, almost anything other than that and I would probably find some amusement or interest in hearing about someone’s life or thoughts. It is after all, often times a good excuse for me to peer into their minds and way of perceiving the world just for a bit, and that’s the main draw I typically have towards social situations, is unraveling such tasty truths of others.

 

[Non_xsense]

if you hate interruptions you are getting old xDD... i guess i bealive in the samsara fuck the rest xDdD...

 

[Earl Grey]

I truly admire you Ts, especially because you can just out and say it- I choke on my words when I try to tell people that later I'll give them attention, but not now (adults, that is...children, not so much, ha)

...is this really a T thing? I know some NTs who are a little hesitant to shoo people off. Usually the INTPs.

 

[tommyc]

Im not sure if this is on topic but I cant work around other people talking. I find it impossible to tune out conversations. My brain is naturally wired to pay attention to anyone talking. When I worked in an office I had to wear ear protectors like you see on construction workers to tune people out. Looked a bit odd...

 

[Coriolis]

Im not sure if this is on topic but I cant work around other people talking. I find it impossible to tune out conversations. My brain is naturally wired to pay attention to anyone talking. When I worked in an office I had to wear ear protectors like you see on construction workers to tune people out. Looked a bit odd...

Not just talking, I generally need complete silence for serious work. I recently had to move to a different office at work, which is much noisier, mostly with other employees' conversations. I got some of those noise cancelling headphones, but they don't work that well and so don't really help. It is horrid.

 

[Obfuscate]

when interupted if it isn't more important/interesting i sort of tune people out... sometimes i mean to and sometimes i don't... i just repeat "what?" after every sentence or two and sort of space out on whatever i was doing or how annoying it is... what i hate most is when people leave long pauses in their words while i read... i have to finish my sentence more slowly because of distraction (which i guess isn't super slow, but still not lickety split), and then make them repeat what they said (over and over)...

i also hate when someone puts on a show/film and talks over it the whole time... talk or watch, both doesn't work for me...

 

[tommyc]

Not just talking, I generally need complete silence for serious work. I recently had to move to a different office at work, which is much noisier, mostly with other employees' conversations. I got some of those noise cancelling headphones, but they don't work that well and so don't really help. It is horrid.

3M Peltor Optime III Earmuffs with Headband, 35 dB, Black/Red - Protection against high noise levels in industrial settings - 1x Peltor ear defender: Amazon.co.uk: Business, Industry & Science

 

[Froody Blue Gem]

I try my best to tolerate them. However, if I am focussed on a task and in my zone and people interrupt me, I do get annoyed. I plan out what I'm going to do in my free time and it's like people are taking my schedule and ripping it apart with their petty interruptions. I am not successful with my tolerance internally. Even when I manage to show politeness on the outside, on the inside, there is a lot of turbulence, anger and anxiety.

Or when I'm in the middle of a thought and people cut me off, this is even worse. I tend to stammer and talk softly so it isn't hard for people to do. I need to get my thought out to have any kind of piece of mind at all. Or sometimes, my mom interrupts me when I'm in the middle of a task. I completely lose my train of thought when a task gets interrupted.

 

[cascadeco]

You got it....no door whatsoever.
I'll be working at my computer and my super Extraverted coworker will pop in while she's getting things for her class and look over my shoulder and talk her head off. Today she wasn't there but her sub was, and I think the sub was kinda lonely because she wouldn't even stop talking to take a breath. And, of course, I kept setting things up for my classes while trying to do my best to be nice to her...I really just wanted to give everyone the death stare today and just be alone. And I totally would if I was younger and a student, even in college I would do that. Alas, this is a luxury I can no longer afford. I mean, don't get me wrong, I love talking to them. Just not today. Not some days. I guess this cannot be good for my stress levels....

I hear ya.

I have a coworker who will talk nonstop about the most inane things; she's just a talker. And everyone on my entire floor, doesn't matter whether it's introvert or extrovert, gets tired of it. I don't experience the brunt of it because early on I 'established' a dynamic where she doesn't come to me super often; I don't ask her many things about her life, so I don't give her the window to then start talking nonstop for fifteen minutes. Minus that being established, though... she's also someone who knows she can be 'a lot to handle' (her words), and when we had a bit of a misunderstanding/ issue last week, and her feelings got hurt, I smoothed it out by just being honest, saying: 'Hey look X, I want you to know that I can sometimes get frustrated because I'm someone who is trying to keep the operation of the store and the customer experience super efficient/ good -- that's what's on my mind if I become frustrated with you; it's never anything personal, it's about trying to keep lines moving, etc [this was with regards to her talking too much and customer lines getting too long].' I mean there was a bit more to the convo/what I said / I apologized and reassured her a bit, etc etc, but that was the gist of my message.

This opened the dialogue for her to then talk, and admit she can be a lot, and then for her to tell me that she'd rather just be told if she's talking too much/ needs to adjust something, that otherwise she might not know, and she's fine if I just tell her I can't talk right now, or if she needs to talk less with customers, etc. So now that we had that talk - I feel it's like we now have a common understanding / it's been established that she knows where I'm coming from, I know what she prefers, and so on. So being direct doesn't become as potentially 'hurtful' anymore.

Sometimes being open/having that dialogue can be really good for all parties, rather than just trying to appease people/ 'be nice'.

[MENTION=25763]Dreamer[/MENTION] I totally hear you. I feel like I experience that a lot.

 

[Red Memories]

depends what I am doing.
sometimes I would gladly welcome a distraction, especially when I am stressed out.

 

[Snow as White]

I hate being interrupted if the reason is stupid. And most of the time the reason is stupid.