Do Not Disturb

Woman Reading by Francis Coates JonesMy mother's DNA and my father's DNA seem to have negotiated a pretty even mix in terms of which parent I take after--a bit of both--but I find that the older I get, the more I'm taking after my father in one specific area: I despise being interrupted!

While I don't remember the specifics from my childhood, I recall my dad's annoyance when I would interrupt him while he was reading, working on a project at his desk, or talking with someone else. My offending interruption could be in the form of a question or comment, or it could be in the form of creating surrounding noise (typically in cahoots with my brother), which would result in an annoyed "Pipe down!" hollered in our direction.

And now, here I am. The older I get, the more I focus on just one thing at a time, blocking out the sounds and activity around me. I want continuity from beginning to end with no breaks. I long to follow a thought all the way through to its conclusion without having to pick up on loose ends and restart along the way. That means that all the following have now become annoying:

• interruptions while I'm reading, particularly if I'm mid-chapter or mid-article
• interruptions while I'm writing, whether it's an e-mail or a blog post or an article or a policy draft
  
• interruptions from someone who thinks they know what I'm going to say, and won't allow me to finish my thought or my argument of a certain point(s), but just starts talking right over me
  

Unfortunately, the people around me are constantly interrupting me in one of those ways. And because I am fortunate to spend my time around several people that I like very much, it's people that I care about that I end up getting cranky at. And I'm even crankier if they're interrupting to say non-time-critical things like, "My computer program isn't working," or "Today Johnny forgot his lunchbox" or "So-and-so's mother-in-law is sick" or "How do you spell 'pleurisy'?"

Couldn't it just wait until I'm done?

So I grunt. Or I don't respond. Or I look up with a baleful glare. Or I say something curt. Or I act as if what they just said was stupid. Or when it really, really gets on my nerves, I snap at them. I've been known to turn on someone during a governance meeting with, "Will you just stop interrupting me?!" It's my version of my dad's old bellow: "Pipe down!" And I can't say that any of it makes me feel any better about myself.

Do any of you experience the same response to interruptions? Do you dislike them as intensely as I do? Has it gotten worse as you age? Do you get tetchy with interrupters? Do you actually ask people around you to change their interrupting behaviors? I'd be interested if there are any other focused, one-track minded people out there who want other people to wait until they reach a good stopping point before they make their presence known.

Your thoughts?