Interruptions!

Because I am balancing my at-home job of teaching college classes online with my at-home job of homeschooling the kids, I have challenges when the goals of the two collide. One of the things that has been driving me buggy is how the kids end up interrupting me when I am in the middle of deep thinking, grading papers, planning, etc. Now, everyone the world over has to deal with interruptions. Some people have a nice, neat system for dealing with them (close the door, do not interrupt signs, etc.), which others take the interruptions in stride.

For significant interruptions I really don't mind the kids saying, "Mom, I have a question." This is their job and they often need the answer to move on. The interruptions that bug me are the little ones that are more social interruptions, general comments about this or that, thrown out yet requiring a response (if only eye contact) from me. These have become more numerous lately, and I find myself just telling the offender "Go outside and play." Often that's enough to send them back to their studies, but I think I need to work on a technique for dealing with this a little more effectively!