Eliminate Prople that interrupt You and Save Your Sanity

With spring-cleaning time on its way, we are all in the mode to clean those closets, get the built-up and hidden areas of our homes cleaned, organized, and eliminate all of the stress points in our lives. How many of us think about cleaning out annoyances in the form of needless associates?

We all have them, they come in many forms, a relative that is always calling, people that will not take 'no' for an answer and the office busy body. These people have driven us crazy for years! They call at the most inopportune times and upset our work schedule. The problem is, we try to be nice and do not want to hurt any ones feelings, so we hang on the phone and listen to them go on and on for hours.

Some of us are inundated with the office busybody, you know, the one that always says things to belittle everyone, that spreads gossip and always has something to say about everything and everybody.

As long as we are taking such an interest in getting rid of the clutter and stress points in our lives, why not clean out these people and make our lives more serene? There are ways of going about this without hurting any ones feelings but it will improve your outlook on the day, a little brighter.

The office busybody
This is the kind of person that knows that you do not want to upset anyone; they can use you to always listen to them and are constantly interrupting your work routine. You would love to get rid of them, but you are too nice a person to just tell them to leave you alone. So how do you get rid of all of the clutter that these people put into your lives and remain the 'nice person'?

You simply cut them off before they get a chance to begin, turn around and walk away and get back to work. It sounds so easy doesn't it? Well, it is and the plus side is that you can do it with tact and still be a nice person. They will soon get the impression that you are a very good employee that takes your work seriously and cannot be bothered during work hours.

As this person comes up to you to start a conversation, you simply say (before they get a chance to start talking); "I thought I better warn you, I have tons of work to get finished and I have decided that I am going to prioritize my work schedule, so I am not going to have time for talking for a while!" Follow that with the comment, "This is a goal I have, so if I cut you short or turn around and walk away, don't be alarmed, I am just sticking to my goal." Then, simply turn around and walk away with a look on your face that let's them know that you are deep in thought and can not be bothered by anyone about anything. If you do this several times, always reinforcing the fact that you have set a goal for yourself, they will prey on someone else.

The relative that is always calling
Most of us have one of these sweet people in the family. They do not have anything else to do but call one relative after another, just to talk or ask a question and then you cannot get them off the phone. So, what do you do about these people without creating a family war?

You call them before they get a chance to call you! Your schedule does not include talking for hours and you need to make them aware of this. You simply say, "I thought that I better let you know, just in case you don't hear from me for a while, that I am going to be very busy for the next month." You can include, "I am on a mission to clean my house, get my schedules organized and prioritize my entire world. Therefore, when I am doing something at home, I will not be answering the phone so I cannot be sidetracked and I stick to my goal. I just didn't want you to be upset or think that I was ignoring you; I am going to be ignoring everyone! Nevertheless, that is the price that I have to pay in order to stick to my plan! Wouldn't you know it; a neighbor is coming to the door, now I have to tell her that I am also going to ignore her ļ! Well, I will get back to you in a month, if you don't hear from me; you will know I am stuck in the attic."

The neighbor that feels they can stop by anytime
Invite them in for one last cup of coffee and proceed to tell them your new working plan. You have decided that with all of the interruptions throughout the day that you always lose track of what your goal is and never seem to accomplish what you set out to do. Well, you have decided that this is the year and that you can easily give up these 'pluses' to your life for a month, in order to get your life and your home cleaned and organized. The only problem is that you are hoping that everyone is like her and will understand that you are not trying to be rude, just stress-free. It may be to your advantage to ask her if she will be a buffer for you, that way if anyone feels slighted, she can tell the neighbors, that you already told her about your goal and you will let them all know when you are finished. Who knows, you may even start a cleaning and organizing trend around the neighborhood and everyone will be busy!

These are only some of the suggestions of things that you can do and say without causing hard feelings and still give yourself time to concentrate on the important things in your life. By giving an explanation with humor and then going forward and sticking to your statement, people will learn that you mean what you say and plan on sticking to your goal. When you see this person,; always 'thank them again', for being so understanding and not having hurt feelings. How can they feel bad when you are being so nice about it?