Fearsome Focus

Time and time again distractions tend to interrupt our groove, take away from productivity and prevent us from reaching full potential.

Had enough?

Two simple answers:

First, put in place segments of your day into focus blocks. I call it "Paytime". This is the time in the day where you prioritize your activities that yield the highest results. Whether it be cold calling or balancing the budget, schedule 45/15 time blocks. Translation...45 minutes of absolute uninterrupted time on the activity followed by 15 minutes of catch-up activity (emails, follow up etc.)
- Alert your peers that you are implementing a new plan to increase sales

- When people interrupt you during these blocks (and they will) gently but firmly tell them you'll connect with them 45 minutes past the hour (or whenever your 45 minutes end). Honor your commitment and follow up with people who need it.

- Be consistent about the application of the process; try to schedule similar activities for the same time every day.

-Condition your colleagues to expect to hear back from you on urgent emails at the bottom 15 minutes of the hour.

-Schedule time to talk to your colleagues rather than dropping in.


Second, get help! You don't have to do everything yourself.
I can do it faster and better myself are the fatal last words of the overwhelmed who never acheive their potential.

Take advantage of available resources. Hire a virtual personal assistant to handle low value activities. Low value activities are the biggest time wasters for sales people. Job out your excessive internet research, data entry, confirming or changing appointments and customer service issues. Be creative...customize your needs/requirements.

For $40 per month you can hire an assistant who will handle basic tasks for you; for around $250 month you can hire an assistant for 20 hours. These assistants are highly skilled at taking care of the administrative and life tasks that you waste time on. You can even try them for free for a week. Go to www.asksunday.com.

Take back your day and make the most of every minute.