Closely related to the last message on procrastination, distractions also can hamper our productivity. Much of this week’s message is based on Dean Jackson’s talk on an episode of the I Love Marketing podcast.
Jackson posits that most people complain of a lack of time to do what they need to because they are distracted. He has identified four major distractors in today’s world that plague most people.
The first distractor is email. Most people don’t have a system to control their email and as a result, their email controls them by being a huge distraction that radically reduces productivity. Taming the email distractor is a two-step process. The first is having three separate email accounts; one business, one personal and one throwaway.
The only email account that should be accessed during working hours is the business account, but not every time it pings. Productivity can be increased by scheduling a few times during the day when you will check your business email and sticking to that schedule. Of course there will be exceptions such as when you are expecting time-sensitive information. The other two email accounts should only be checked during non-working hours.
The second distractor is the phone. Dealing with phone distractions can be accomplished several ways. If you have an assistant, that person should know the small group of people who always can be put through; spouse/significant other, kids, the boss, Richard Branson, etc. If you don’t have an assistant, hopefully you at least have caller ID so you can see if you want to be interrupted at that particular time.
The third major distractor is people. Dealing with the people distractors requires a certain degree of tact but it must be done, otherwise productivity will certainly suffer. “Do you have a minute?” can quickly turn into a 10-20 minute detour into unrelated matters. When I worked in an agency, the top producer always kept his door closed. I don’t know if that was the reason he usually led the agency, but I do know he was never seen discussing last night’s game or the top news stories.
The fourth distractor is your thoughts, and that is the hardest one to deal with. Jackson suggests what he calls a 50-minute focus finder, whereby you seclude yourself, set a timer for 50 minutes, and write down everything you have to do. The list can range from errands to major projects and everything in between. He says to use the full 50 minutes to make it more likely you don’t forget anything. Once the list is complete, segment it between business and personal and then further segment it into items that won’t take very long (phone calls, letters, etc.). By doing this exercise, you are less likely to be distracted by your thoughts because you know you’ve addressed everything on your list.
Although this week’s message doesn’t address life insurance, if you can eliminate the distractions, maybe you’ll create the time to focus on it 😊.
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