Last week, I discussed how to cut down on digital interruptions to get back some of that all-important focused brain time so you can establish a good work flow. One of the major disruptions when you’re working from home is those relentless telemarketing phone calls! During the height of the pandemic here in April, my office and home lines were mysteriously quiet. Apparently robocallers don’t work from home… It was a small blessing in a stressful time lacking in positive moments. However, as things began opening up again, the phone started to ring again, and not in a good way! Being constantly interrupted by call after call is not just annoying, but can really interfere with any work flow you’ve got going on. In addition, many of these characters are not just selling ads in the local country club membership directory (for clubs that apparently don’t exist…) Some of them can be terribly scary and lead folks to believe that they’re the subject of investigation by the IRS, or that they’re being sued by some unknown entity. And many of them can be pretty convincing! I’ve had more than one very intelligent, savvy client nearly get drawn in. If you’re working from a home office and are constantly interrupted by spam calls or telemarketers, invest in a spam call blocker such as nomorobo, robokiller or hiya. It’s worth Every. Single. Penny. you spend on it! I have always wondered, does anyone really buy anything from these folks that call and call random numbers? Because I never have, and never will. That doesn’t stop them, of course, but answering them just confirms that they have a real-live number that connects to a human being. Which just keeps them calling, and calling, and calling…
There are always some telemarketers who manage to slip past the robocall blockers. If you find you’re getting calls from the same number repeatedly, it may be worth going to your service provider and blocking the number there. Most carriers have a call blocking service available, whether you use a cell phone, landline, or both. Many offer you the choice to block the calls completely, send the call directly to voice mail, or let the call ring through with a “suspected spam” label. I’ve found that, along with using nomorobo.com for both my cell and office landline, which sends the call directly to voice mail after one ring, going to my carrier’s blocking option for specific numbers that are really persistent works quite well to keep the junk down. Check out this page from the FTC website that offers some good information: how to block unwanted calls.
While it may take a little effort and a little trial-and-error to set up some roadblocks to disruptive spam callers, the time you’ll get back in more peace and quiet and uninterrupted focus time will be more than worth it!
