Huy Nguyen
MGMT 314
Daniel Martin
January 24th, 2025
Weekly Journal
The readings this week really brought home how fragmented a manager's day truly is. The tasks
that managers perform are so varied and so many that Mintzberg and Kotter found it hard to
categorize them into just a few broad categories. Our authors give several main categories and
lots of subcategories for the kinds of work that managers do. One idea that Mintzberg and Kotter
seem to agree on is that, even if you can classify the kinds of work managers do, the kinds of
work done by doing the work of a manager seem to add up to minimal amounts of time spent on
maximally impactful activities.
I shared this insight with my girlfriend, since she recently started a part-time leadership role at
her job. I explained that managers often feel overloaded because their time is constantly
interrupted and divided into fragments. She immediately connected to this, saying that in her role
she is always being pulled in different directions, answering quick questions from team
members, talking to her supervisor, and dealing with customers. She said it made her feel less
guilty about not having long stretches of “deep work time,” because the research suggests that
interruptions aren’t a sign of poor performance but simply part of the manager’s reality.
This week’s quote that captures my learning is:
“Interruptions are not distractions from a manager’s work, they are the work.”
Discussing this with my girlfriend brought about a very favorable conversation. She stated that
when she is put in a position where she must quickly shift tasks, apologies will no longer exit her
mouth. She will instead lean into the switch as a part of her role. Her insight made me realize
that when it comes to flexibility versus intentionality, managers must achieve a balance. They
need to be responsive, but not at the cost of sighting bigger goals.
This understanding will be applied in the attempt to practice reframing interruptions in one's own
life. For instance, when I study or work on projects, I often feel frustrated when friends or family
reach out with small questions. Instead of seeing this as wasted time, I plan to treat these
interactions as meaningful chances to build relationships. Specifically, I will set aside Monday
and Wednesday evenings (7-9 p.m.) to study. If I get interrupted during that time, I will engage
fully with whoever is asking the question, come back to my studying afterward, and try to not
feel resentful about the interruption. I will track what I can of the frequencies and durations of
these kinds of interruptions and reflect on any possible "mindset changes" that may occur as a
result.