Managers are especially torn between trying to be both accessible and productive. They want to be modern, sensitive bosses who will hear out customer complaints and employee problems — but they also have planning to do, projects to complete, paperwork to handle, goals to meet, and higher-ups to satisfy.

Here are some techniques for striking a balance:

- The telephone, Alec Mackenzie suggests, is one of the biggest time-wasters. He gives several strategies for dealing with interrupting phone calls, such as call screening, voice mail, and the like. However, perhaps the simplest solution is to put a three-minute egg timer on your desk. When the sand runs out, you know to halt diplomatically all but the most critical of calls.

- An open-door policy is fine, but it can destroy your efficiency if taken too far. Roger Dawson, in 13 Secrets of Power Performance, offers numerous ways to lessen drop-in visitors. One, arrange your office so you are not readily visible and thus a target for people passing by with time on their hands. Another, set a block of time — usually early in the workday or near the end — when employees do a lot of socializing, and make that your official “closed-door” period when you can hole up and not feel guilty.

- Go to lunch at an odd hour; say 11 a.m. or 1 p.m. Not only, Dawson believes, will you get a better table and service at the restaurant, you will be working when everyone else is out to lunch, and will therefore minimize distractions. Thus, your productivity will soar.

Stumble it!