What is more frustrating than staying late in the office to get something done only to have your co-worker swing by with a full coffee and plant herself at your desk? Or perhaps it is yet another meeting with your boss about how to improve time management and increase efficiency?

While it may feel like we are at work all the time, it is particularly bad when that small amount of time we are trying to work is hijacked by some oblivious co-worker. Here are a few tips for reclaiming some of that lost time — or at least finding a way to make it less frustrating.

The contradictory boss

Have you done the math and figured out that you have spent more hours this quarter in meetings dedicated to improving time management than hours necessary to completely catch up on your work if it were not for those meetings? It would be great if we all had the ability to point this out to our bosses.

However, either because of our communication style or theirs, it may not work. In those cases, it can be helpful to plan something else to do during the meeting. If laptops are allowed, then use the time for calendaring or other time management tasks. If not, then find a way to meditate.

In other words, use the time to clear your head. Bring your notebook and make project and to-do lists. Clear your mind, and if you do get called out in the meeting, you can simply say you were incorporating some of your boss's time management tools.

The constant cat/fitness/ex-someone/medical conditions updates

Maybe at one point you inadvertently indicated you did not hate cats. Or perhaps you did genuinely care about the initial malady of your turned-out-to-be hypochondriac co-worker. And it is possible you could see yourself caring again if the updates did not always come at the most inopportune times.

Most communication advice would suggest kindly explaining the truth and excusing yourself. But not all of us are equipped to speak so politely and correctly, particularly when we are frustrated. Further, that type of response often only buys us one pass, and the repeat offenders will be back to take our time again.

Instead, try being proactive. Pick a time of day where your brain is mush or you otherwise would not be getting anything done and go seek out the person who steals your productive time to ask for the update. This puts you on their turf, allowing you to control the time of day, questions and length of conversation while also maintaining a relationship that may be necessary.

Necessary evils

We may never work in a place where we like all the people, but it is helpful if we can find a way to maintain professional relationships with our co-workers. Sometimes that may mean showing interest in things about which we care very little.

Invest a little effort to identify the relationships worth managing (like your annoying boss or cubicle mate). By finding a way to actively manage those relationships, you can increase your control over your time spent on them.

Whether it is multitasking or planning ahead, figure out an approach that is comfortable for you and try it. It may help you increase your sanity as well as your productivity.