Are you frustrated by the relentless onslaught of people interrupting you? Is your work suffering because of all the interruptions? Would you believe me when I say, “It’s your fault”?

If your day is filled with people coming into your office, unscheduled, and asking for your help, consider this: In his book The One Minute Manager Meets the Monkey, Kenneth Blanchard describes this scenario the following way: “When a person goes to their boss with a problem and the boss agrees to do something about it, the monkey is now off of their back and now on the boss’.” And if you do this all day long, your office is now overrun with monkeys. Sound familiar?

Well, fear not! I have the perfect solution to put a stop to all the interruptions. It’s as simple as 1-3-1. I was taught this simple tool by a client.

My client’s business was growing rapidly, and she was dealing with 136 issues a day. What she realized was that her direct reports were not taking the time to think about their issue before coming to see her. She found herself stopping what she was working on to help them, and this became her daily routine. She sought advice from her executive peer group, and that’s where she was introduced to Blanchard’s book. After reading it, the answer to her problem came to her.

She informed her executives moving forward that she was implementing a new protocol called 1-3-1. For every issue someone had, they needed to think about it, prepare 3 solutions, and then come to her so she could help them pick the best one. 1 issue, 3 solutions, 1 result.

The next time someone interrupts you with an issue, stop them in their tracks and ask them if they have thought about the issue and if they have three solutions. If they don’t, send them out of your office and tell them that when they have three possible solutions, they can come back and you’ll be happy to help them pick the best one!