On any given day, we're assaulted by dozens of interruptions. Whether you take a phone call that disrupts your workflow or you become fascinated with something unimportant from your inbox, distractions happen.

Since these intrusions are a fact of life, it's important to know how to handle them. I was speaking about this with a client recently, and the outcome of our conversation was for him to set better boundaries in order to reduce distractions.

When we permit distractions, we lose focus on what we should be doing. As the focus dissipates, we can also lose energy and interest and the task at hand becomes burdensome.

The challenge is that these diversions can occur at the blink of an eye, and in many cases we don't even realize what's happened until some time has passed.

You may not immediately recognize every distraction that comes your way, but you can start by setting boundaries around three of the biggies:

• E-mail. Instead of being glued to your BlackBerry or your Outlook, set specific times to respond to your e-mail.

• Phone. Just because the phone rings doesn't mean you have to answer it - especially if you're focused on something else. If the sound of the ringer bothers you, turn it off.

• Drop in visitors. People who wander into your office can consume enormous amounts of valuable time. Don't shun them; instead, ask to meet later.