Co-Worker Angst & Chatter

Do people drive you crazy? I don't mean everyone. I mean those select few who must tell you how to conduct your career or explain in excruciating detail how they spent their weekend? I sound mean, but the point here is that sometimes in order to get our jobs done we need to jump off the line, ignore non-emergency (in spite of the urgent exclamation point that some must use) emails, and in general focus on our computer screens rather than the person hanging outside the cube.
    One of the hardest skills to learn whether you're a young employee or even a veteran who's had plenty of years to practice is the ability to say, "I'd love to chat, but I've got to get to work." Why is that so difficult? We worry (some of us) about hurting people's feelings; we fret that others will think we're self-important oafs; and sometimes we use those people to help us procrastinate. But as we all know being a good listener is a very attractive characteristic, especially if you're working in a sea of people who actually don't care. In those circumstances, you're a good mark, which can make the job of fighting people off that much more challenging.
    Although it can be a difficult skill to master it really is essential if you're going to succeed and, in the short term, get your work done. I always say to people who want to write, for example, that something in their schedule has to give. Let's say that in addition to your "regular" job, whether you're working in a corporate environment or doing freelance, you want to explore some other options. Maybe you want to write a novel or an article or you're considering a new business but like most people must keep your day job so that you can eat. Well, the same sort of applies to managing co-workers who repeatedly attempt to distract you from your work. Something has to give. You may not feel so great after telling someone even in the kindest way possible that you just don't have time to chat and you'll have to talk with later (or never). That's one of the problems, but it's also something we must do. It's a maturation process in a way. It's the grown-up thing to do.
    Unfortunately, we tend to blame others when we allow them to suck up our time. But in the end, whether it's the day your project is due and you're not finished or in a worst case scenario, you've actually lost your job because your distractions literally got the best of you, we're really responsible for ourselves and if we can think of that each time a co-worker's angst muscles in on our time, then we might be a little more vigilant about how much of ourselves we're willing to give.
    When someone is taking up too much of your time consider this quote by Eleanor Roosevelt: “Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people”