Are you tired of hearing yourself say things like, “I just don’t have enough time,” or “It feels like I worked all day and got nothing done?”

These things can be signs that you are being distracted. In today’s digital world, it is common for distractions to keep us from getting at the things we want to accomplish. In fact, it is possible that we are being encouraged to accept getting distracted as part of normal daily life. Do you ever turn off your phone? Or do you leave it on just in case—just in case you get the message you have been waiting for?

Measuring Distraction 

After examining some of the research on distraction, I learned that the amount of time spent being distracted is measured in several interesting ways. The amount of time we spend in sustained activity is measured in two performance factors: accuracy and kindness.  Distractions can and do affect both of these measurements. Researchers are also interested in learning when we recapture focus and attention on a task after a distraction.

What is Distraction?

A distraction can be something like glancing over to check your phone to see what’s happening now on your Twitter feed or seeing if you have a reply from a friend. A distraction can be an interruption from your phone or a knock at your door. In short, a distraction takes your mind away from the task at hand.

Does Getting Distracted Matter to Your Productivity?

Are you engaged in tasks that demand intense thought? Is your speed at performing a task or how much time you spend on the task factor into your productivity? I didn’t want to believe what you were about to read. According to research at the University of California, getting yourself back on track with a task that requires your full attention after being interrupted takes just over 23 minutes. This finding suggests that even a few distractions can set you back a whole hour or more at the end of a day.

This study also concluded that distracted or interrupted people tend to work faster to meet benchmarks and deadlines, but working faster with interruptions may come with costs.  It found frequently interrupted people experience workload-related stressors, frustration, and pressure.

Before you disagree with the amount of time lost due to interruption and change of focus, another online article said it took about 25 minutes to get re-focused. It went on to say that our current attention span is about 11 minutes. How long can you stay focused on a task? How long does it take you to get back into the groove?

Is Our Attention Span Changing?

I next went to find out more about our attention span these days. I had read that note that even a goldfish had a longer attention span than a human. Really? Reports vary. One article said our attention span has dwindled to about five minutes from 12 minutes ten years ago. I encourage you to monitor your own situation. If you are a parent working from home, interruptions may be the order of your daytime hours, and you may choose to get your work done after the children are in bed.

What if We Classified Attention Span as Purpose?

What if you are bored? Does your level of interest play a part? The amount of time you focus on doing a jigsaw puzzle in a single sitting might have no relation to the amount of time you spend focusing on what is said at the weekly office meeting, reading an engaging book or answering your email. And sometimes, we divide our attention between two things, such as what’s happening in the kitchen and what is being reported on television. So some factors influence sustained attention, and there are situations where our focus shifts and alternates our attention between two activities.

Does it Matter if We Get Distracted?

What do we value most when it comes to paying attention or focusing on the task at hand? Would that be:

• sustained attention?
• the ability to be interrupted and get back to home base?
• the ability to shift attention with accuracy?
• the ability to make the best choice about where attention should be directed and ignore everything else?

What do you value being able to do?

Avoiding Distractions

If you are feeling frustrated about not getting your work done or that you can’t keep your mind on your work, here are three distractions that you should avoid:

• Avoid constantly checking your email. How would your work life be different if you only checked your messages once an hour or twice a day? Checking those pings on your smartphone and impatiently checking your inbox takes you away from your intended activity. And avoid your email immediately after you wake up each morning. Let your brain remain calm.
• Avoid performing Drive-By Reading (DBR). Skimming text is not DBR. Skimming is an activity you perform with your eyes to locate the thing you are looking for with a quick visual examination. I define DBR as fishing where you are looking for something that captures your attention. DBR can have you bouncing from topic to topic as you navigate down many Internet rabbit holes exploring URL after URL without going too deep. Mere seconds will do. Some call investigating rabbit holes surfing. It’s not okay to do when it replaces the time you could otherwise spend on your intended activity. Furthermore, going slow has a better chance of capturing and sustaining your attention with focus than speed.
• Avoid doing two things at once. Is it really possible to do two things at once? Probably not. You are likely moving back and forth from one activity to the other. Even listening and writing has your attention divided between the two activities so you move quickly from one to the other. You may feel better about your outcome if you choose one, finish it, and start the next.

Who might care if you can hold your attention on a thought or a task?  You might be saying, “Does it matter? I get stuff done, don’t I?” Persons who are unsupervised while working, for instance, in remote or hybrid positions of employment, may find themselves wanting to log their own activities and assess their own work behaviors to determine if distractions are occurring and, if so, at what frequency.

Distractions do cost. The more you continue to allow yourself to be distracted, the more likely it is that you will experience feelings of frustration for not getting done what you intended to get done. Managing distractions is a crucial aspect of choosing the things you spend your time on. You can’t buy back time spent, so make conscious choices.

Will you stick to your priority or choose to monitor the pings and dig rabbit holes? I invite you to challenge yourself to extend your attention span and limit distractions.

__________________

Resources:

Keefe, Rose. “How to Get Back on Track When You Get Distracted.” Last updated 13 September 2022. Web. 20 March 2023

Mark, Gloria et al. “The Cost of Interrupted Work: More Speed and Stress.” Microsoft Word – chi1038-mark.doc. Web. 20 March 2023

Plumridge, Nicole. “Is the internet destroying our attention span?” 3 January 2020. Web, 20 March 2023

Donna Dahl is an author, executive empowerment coach and speaker. Through her proven system, she helps leaders develop strategies for self-mastery and confidence in their own inner guidance systems. She skillfully and collaboratively draws out their strengths, resources, barriers, and goals. Her thought leadership in developing solutions is based on sound research, effective practice, and findings in neuroscience. She says, “How useful is what I do? As someone with a reputation for keeping current on best practices and thinking outside the box to create new ideas, even a single conversation with me to explore your needs could make a difference. Let’s chat.”

Check out her profile at https://www.linkedin.com/in/donnadahl/

Diving Into the Operations Manual

The operation manual is the heart of a business and one of the most critical steps for compliance, legislation, streamlining, increasing efficiency, marketing effectively, developing a growth plan, and saving money and time. But it should never be condescending, complicated, dull, or vague.

What is Included

When developing your Operations Manual consider including the following important business needs as it improves your marketing, assists with obtaining financing, trouble shoots and streamlines your business, simplifies onboarding, identifies your document and email hierarchy and more.

• Mission Statement - It should be emotionally stirring, communicates why, is memorable, is surprising, actionable, specific, and can be spoken in one or two sentences.
• Vision Statement - Needs to be clear, concise, realistic, inspiring, not too broad, and one or two sentences.
• Core Values - Used to align your business policies, hiring practices, and vision plan.
• Story - A well-done story gives consumers a compelling reason to buy from you.
• Organization Chart - Multi uses such as, revealing your document hierarchy and simplifying onboarding.
• Policies - Polices are a set of general guidelines that outline the organization’s plan for tackling issues. It also includes preventative practices and regulations.
• Processes - The processes include all the information to execute the task quickly and flawlessly.
• Job Descriptions - Job descriptions include role details and establish onboarding procedures such as which access is necessary. Having staff able to begin working the same day they start makes a difference.
• Vision Plan Action Steps - Consider including the business history and current status, products/services, unique features, risks and opportunities, goals and objectives within a time frame, action steps, and a contingency plan.

No Time to Get It Done?

There are professionals that work with you and your team who can get it done quickly, have the experience to ask the right questions, and know the best formats for your industry because without it, as your business grows there will be many problems that would not exist if you had the Operations Manual.

By Cheryl Erickson

The Five Stages of a Business

Formulation

In this stage, perform a brain dump about all you are doing, thinking, and planning about your business. You put together business plans, budgets, marketing plans, recruiting plans, economic forecasts, etc. You commit to paper everything you can think of about your business.

Concentration

Concentration is characterized by lots of energy and activity going out but little coming in. For every ten actions you take, only 1 produces a result. You’re not spinning your wheels because your actions are on purpose and designed to keep your business running. It’s just that you’re expending much energy with very little to show for it.

If you’ve ever had to jump-start a car by popping the clutch, you know what I mean about concentration. Remember how you got behind the car, which was at a dead standstill, and pushed and pushed with all your might, but the car barely moved?  You put out a lot of energy and hard work with minimal results. The car just barely began to roll forward. But then you entered Stage 3.

Momentum

Using our car analogy again, momentum is where you still apply energy and effort, but now you’re beginning to see results. The car is starting to move. It’s picking up steam. You’re still struggling, but the car is moving faster and faster, and it’s getting easier to push. Instead of 10 actions, momentum is now to produce one result, 7 to 1, 5 to 1, 3 to 1, and so on.

More phone calls are being returned, connections on Social Media increase and individuals are starting to recognize you. You’re putting out advertising, and more people are responding. You’re going on sales calls and closing more sales. You can feel the momentum building.

Stability

In this stage, your business has become fairly stable and predictable. You know that if you do certain things, customers will show up. Ads produce a steady stream of clients, cold calling or prospecting gets so much business, etc. If you go on x number of appointments, you’ll close y number of sales. Your conversion rates are steady and predictable. It’s one action out, one result in.

Breakthrough

If you reach this stage (and I say if because, in my experience, few businesses ever get here), your business takes off, often in unpredictable ways. The phone is ringing off the hook. Your seminars are filled to overflowing, and you’ve got so many client appointments you can’t keep track of them. In fact, you’re getting calls and leads from the proverbial “out of the blue.” Someone’s aunt’s brother’s cousin’s sister calls you, and you can’t even remember where you met the first person in the chain.

Business cards you left at someone’s office months ago fall into the hands of someone you don’t even know. They call wanting a meeting as you are the answer to all their problems. On some level, you could almost say you’ve got too much business. You must generate new structures and systems to handle and manage it. It’s almost like going back into formulation again because, in essence, you’ve got a totally new business different from the one you conceived back in Stage 1.

Overview

These stages are linear, and if you skip over one, you usually pay the price somewhere down the road.

If you don’t formulate and go into concentration, you’ve got a lot of activity but no direction or purpose. It’s random and ill-conceived.

If you don’t do the legwork of concentration, you’ll miss valuable learning experiences and insights that only come from hard work and perseverance.

I have occasionally seen clients in the real estate field go from momentum to breakthrough (a quick explosion of leads and appointments and listings and buyers). They get so wrapped up in servicing those clients that they stop prospecting and lead generating. Then when things calm down, and all those houses are sold, and buyers have found homes, there’s no business, and they must go back to concentration again, hitting the phones, walking their farm area, etc., and it takes them 2-3 months to get back to building a stable business. So be aware of following the model one stage at a time.

Brad Warren, Land Banking Consultant @ https://www.linkedin.com/in/bradleykwarren/

Brad Warren was a national and international speaker, author, seminar leader, and business coach.  He travelled to 19 foreign countries and 27 of the United States over the last 40 years, teaching a wide range of business courses, including time management, communication skills, lead generation, and negotiation skills.  

He's also coached over 500+ business owners on goal setting and accomplishment, business planning and implementation, and how to be more effective and productive. 

He is the 2014 recipient of the Bay East Association of Realtors Affiliate of the Year award and the author of Just Sold! The Real Estate Professionals Guide to Selling More in Less Time. 

He’s spoken at the National Association of Realtors 2016 and 2017 Annual Conventions on Time Block Your Way to Success with Less Stress! and he’s also certified to teacher.

The ONE Thing, based on the national best-seller of the same name by Gary Keller and Jay Papasan.  After 40+ years as a business coach, speaker, and trainer. Brad transitioned to a new career as a land banking consultant, helping patient investors build generational wealth by investing in land.

Brad Warren welcomes your calls to learn about land investment. LinkedIn

The subject of time management has been around for decades. Managers with a penchant for micro-managing people and projects were quick to adopt practices that required people to be accountable for their time on the job . . . every minute of it. Productivity could not be sacrificed because of a measurable lack of respect for the value of a single minute.

Historically Speaking

Time was when there were no clocks. Time was when people rose with the sun’s rising and retired with its setting. Time was when the original alarm clock was more organic than mechanical. The drinking of a large amount of water before retiring, for example, would encourage early rising due to the need to empty an overly full bladder.

Time was when North America entered its industrial revolution by manufacturing such items as automobiles. The large assembly plants required a workforce numbering in the hundreds and sometimes even the thousands. They punched in and out on a time-stamp clock to keep track of each employee's exact contribution of time. That timing apparatus was an invention that resulted from the need to monitor the precise time spent on shift for a large contingent of labourers without having a human do the record keeping. Work hours could then be calculated, and the workers paid accordingly.

Do We Manage Tasks and People, or Do We Manage Time?

To be clear . . . it is possible to manage people, and it is possible to manage tasks or the production of products, but it is simply not possible to manage time. Time continues with or without management. It does not stop. It cannot be slowed down or speeded up. It was not possible to set the time stamp clock back if someone was late for shift.

Time is time. It can be measured in terms of its passing as in the amount of time that has lapsed. We can describe what took place in that period of time, and we can report on whether or not we employed the time as planned. But time itself is not manageable.

What Can we Manage?

• We can set boundaries on the length of time we are willing to spend doing something.
• We can devote time to a hobby or to learning something new.
• We can estimate the amount of time that a task will take.
• We can choose the number of months or years to spend working before taking retirement or finding greener pastures. 
• We can make choices about how we spend the next hour.
• We can donate our time by volunteering or performing acts of kindness. We can give of our time in support of campaigning for a cause or caring for a loved one.
• We can share our time with family and friends.
• We can celebrate our wins when we accomplish what we set out to do. Those wins might have been attached to a timeline; thus, we may also celebrate the completion if accomplished within the targeted amount of time.

Does Time Have Monetary Value?

If time did not have value, there might not be any such thing as an hourly wage or an estimated return on investment over time.

Is your time for sale? If you are being paid for your time, are you more easily motivated? Perhaps your time may be purchased as in contracting for your services with a payment agreement.

We can record our use of time by keeping a log and determining our hourly worth.

Spending Time Investing in Ourselves

Is there something you have wanted to learn? Taking classes is one way to invest in yourself, whether you are enriching your mind or expanding your skill set. Hiring a coach, watching how-to videos, and reading books are other ways to invest in your abilities and grow your knowledge.

Is it okay to squeeze the life out of every working minute of every day? Perhaps. However, using a portion of your time for leisure and recreation, too, can prove to be a valuable investment in your physical and mental health.

Active or Passive? 

Our time may be spent passively or actively. We can be bystanders or participants. We can be engaged physically or mentally, or both. Our level of engagement can vary. We can be present as silent observers or as active listeners without contributing a single word. We can partake in the discussion by asking questions and sharing information. Regardless of your participation, time will not be put on hold.

But Time Management?

It’s not about managing our time. It’s about setting our priorities. Prioritize. Decide what’s important. What needs to get done today? Now?

We can rent out our time. We can save time when we package activities. And certain projects can be completed faster with the right equipment rather than doing them by hand. That can save time, too.

How About Managing Your Use of Time?

I am reminded of the question, “What is the best use of your time right now?” Is that making a phone call to a friend or taking a nap? You get to decide.

You are the manager—the decisionmaker—regarding how you use your time. Is it necessary to have something to show for every minute and even every second of your time? Maybe so if you are a gamer testing a new avatar for release by a deadline or engineering the launch of a rocket within a window of good weather. Maybe your income per minute matters if your return-on-investment increases with every additional product you can manufacture in an hour.  Seconds can matter in the saving of a life. Fortunately, not every decision about the use of time is a life-or-death situation or threatens failure.

Making Changes

What are your priorities for the use of your time in the coming year? Will you read more? Will you play more? Will you start a new project? Will you be more physically active?

Will you pare down your “Things To Do” list or make it longer? I am reminded of the book The One Thing by Gary Keller and Jay Papasan. What is the one thing that, if you get it done today, will make everything else you do today a bonus? You might even try making a Things-To-Do list in reverse by writing down all the things you did today rather than building the list before the fact.

Time is a Gift

Time is a gift. We have but to decide what we do with it. We can choose to set priorities for our time week by week, day by day, or hour by hour. We can even schedule our time by the minute. We can choose how we will spend it and then carry out our plan.

Yes, time is a gift. It is passing by now as you read this article. It cannot be replaced or substituted. May you take command of your choices, and may your choices bring you satisfaction and fulfillment.

Donna Dahl, M. Ed., is more than an empowerment coach. She is a leading executive strategist and catalyst for change, working with leaders, teams, employees, and entrepreneurs. Through her neuroscience-based approach, she is well-poised to disseminate skill development, empowerment, and engagement. Her award-winning track record speaks for itself. She is the author of Lessons I Learned from the Tortoise, a five-star rated book designed to gently challenge the reader to consider a change. She welcomes opportunities to discuss your challenges. Check out her profile at https://www.linkedin.com/in/donnadahl/

Should you have a coach? You are looking for answers, but the canvas before you is blank.

It would help to know if working with a coach would help you get to where you want to go with more speed and less angst . . . with more skill and less guesswork. You have never hired a coach before. Why not? Could having a coach make a difference?

Do you have a family doctor? A dentist? A favourite automotive repair shop? An alterations expert? A florist? You may even want a family jeweller equipped to appraise your valuables.

We build our personal community of relationships with individuals whom we count on to be dependably available and consistently reliable. These are people we have taken the time to get to know. Their track record of performance with us tells us we can trust them.

And if you are adding a coach to your list of human resources, here is a set of questions that you might want to ask when interviewing a coach to work with you:

1. What are your qualifications as a coach? While qualifications matter to some, track records may be more relevant. What you seek is a match that connects the coach’s expertise with the skills you need.
2. How long have you been coaching? Just as you may not want to be someone’s first date, you may not want to be someone’s first client. If you are looking for a client with a history of success, ask the question.
3. Who is your preferred client? This question will help you determine if you are a fit for this coach. It does not mean that what you are looking for is on the list of good fits, but it will give a picture related to professional alignment.
4. Tell me your favourite success story. Watch to see if the candidate’s face lights up or if they shuffle in apparent discomfort. Listen to the content. Is there a sense of excitement or a feeling of accomplishment present? Do you feel drawn into the story?
5. Describe the coaching system you use and why it works. You want to find out if you will be sent to watch a suite of videos complete with workbook pages to fill out or, secondly, if you will be taken through a guided step-by-step system over several months or, thirdly, if you will begin from where you are coming from in an attempt to solve the problems you want to solve now without the months of study.
6. How much time should I invest when working with you as my coach? You want to find out more about your length of commitment. Are you prepared to spend three months in weekly sessions or a year in monthly sessions? It would help if you did an analysis of your calendar scheduling practices to determine if you have, for instance, every Tuesday morning at 8 am to have a meeting with your coach. Are evenings better for you? What about weekends?
7. Is there someone with whom I could speak about their coaching experience with you? Speaking with a previous client might be more reassuring than reading the recommendations and testimonials on the internet.

You oversee your growth as an entrepreneur, a solopreneur, a leader, a member of the C-Suite, a manager, or an employee. When it comes to your personal and professional development, the choice is yours. You get to choose how, where and when you map your own journey and follow it through to its destination.

The important thing to remember with coaches is that one size does not fit all, and while some coaches will be able to tick a lot of boxes for you, no one knows everything. Choose a coach from an area where you want to focus. Ask the pointed questions. You should be coached in the realm of finance or grant writing in the first quarter of the year and then move to improve your elevator pitch and your self-promotion skills in the next quarter.

In this changing world, is it time to take your leadership . . . your work life . . .  your business enterprise . . . in a new direction? While the world may be changing rapidly and uncontrollably, consulting a coach, even periodically, may keep your enthusiasm for what you do alive and well.

Is it time to hire a coach?

There is Ground School for pilots in training, so could there be Ground School for geese? Is there even such a thing?

I enjoy being a student of the unexpected. I never know where the next gem of insight will show up. What I am about to share with you is something I learned on the fly . . .  pardon the pun.

I have learned that being open to the gifts that may arrive suddenly and by surprise provides space for opportunities to present themselves. On this particular occasion, I found myself drawn to watch the activity of a group of young geese.

I was having a game of golf and at the fifth hole was a pond of water longer than it was wide. I could not help but notice the considerable number of geese in the water.

“That’s rather odd,” I thought to myself. This did not look like one of those times when the parents of this year’s goslings were out for a swim with their brood. It appeared that all the geese, save for one, looked to be about the same size and likely about the same age.

After a little study, I noted that this was a flock of young geese appearing to be swimming in unison . . . well . . . more or less in unison . . . moving across the length of water. Some of the geese were fast, some were slow, and some needed extra time to get upright in the water after performing unintended head-over-heel style flips. Sound interesting? The synchrony of the geese swimming together . . . or trying to…caught our attention so much so that we joined the pairs of spectator geese that had now gathered around the pond, and we watched.

Without warning and without so much as a whisper, something interrupted the geese in the water. The geese began to gather at one end of the pond and then began to make their way across the pond to the other end. They appeared to be following an older lead goose and imitating what the lead goose was doing.

When moving in one direction, they seemed to be floating like hovercraft without moving their wings or creating a ripple in the water. When they arrived at the pond’s edge, some would simply turn around in preparation to go back the way they came. Some would attempt underwater somersaults . . . where . . . more often than not . . . they would tip over sideways, scrambling to keep their bodies upright with their feet in the water. It was funny to watch them trying to carve out a space for themselves . . . not unlike trying to make a space for yourself in a crowded tai chi class.

When the geese were in position in the water and comfortably separated back at the original end of the pond, the leader began flapping his wings and making noise until they were all following along. Then the class began to move across the water with feet propelling them as though they were getting ready to walk on water. When the lead goose reached the other end of the pond, the flapping stopped. The bodies of the goslings settled into the water as they simultaneously turned around and headed back to the other side of the pond in preparation to repeat the exercise. This carried on several times.

From where I was standing, it felt like I was on the observation deck during Goose Ground School training exercises. After all, a few minutes of distraction from playing golf couldn’t hurt.

It became apparent that there was only one explanation for what we saw. This had to be Goose Ground School. The geese born this year were being groomed for their long-haul flight. They were being trained in important goose migration skills like formation take-off, wind-direction assessment and wing muscle-mass development. When the instructor goose leading the pack thought the students had had enough practice for one day, flight class abruptly ended with all the young geese stepping out of the water to join their parents for grazing snacks.

I wish I had had my phone with me so I could have recorded the whole event. How many times have you said, “I wish I had . . .” or “I wish I would have . . .?”

It takes a particular mindset to be open to observing the gift or receiving the information that appears in only that one single moment. Being able to attend a lesson at Goose Ground School that day was an unexpected pleasure. No one minded that we took a few extra minutes at Hole Five to savor the sight.

What does Goose Ground School have to do with getting your business off the ground? For me, it all boils down to an attitude of being open to receiving unexpected gifts that may show up from time to time. Sometimes those gifts are in the form of opportunities happening right before our eyes. We have but to pay attention.

Opportunities to do business are everywhere. Sometimes you simply have to get in the water. Sometimes you have to take flight lessons to get your business off the ground . . . and sometimes you find ways to delegate certain tasks to others who are experts at what they do and who can lighten your load.

Sometimes in business and in life . . . that’s all it takes . . . a consultant, an expert, a teacher, a mentor, a coach—someone who will share their experience and enrich our abilities to take advantage of life’s unexpected gifts and achieve success.

By Donna Dahl

Donna Dahl, M. Ed., MNLP, is a leading executive strategist and catalyst for change. Through her neuroscience-based coaching, she is well-poised to disseminate skill development, empowerment, and engagement. Donna has an award-winning track record, and she is the author of Lessons I Learned from the Tortoise, a five-star rated book designed to challenge the reader to consider mindful change.  She welcomes discovery calls.

In Part 1, we looked at the types of distractions.  Part 2 examined three keys to removing distractions. Now let’s determine how to implement removing distractions using these 3 Keys: Organization, Structure, and Wellness

Using R.E.D. System

It comes down to a formula I like to call R.E.D, which is to Recreate, Eliminate or Delegate

The first step is to grade each distraction 1 - 5 or 1 - 10 based on the disruption it causes.  Then you can address each distraction individually. This is important.  If you grade the distractions, you will be able to address them in order of priority.

The second step is to follow the R.E.D Formula to see whether you can change it so it no longer becomes a distraction.  Remove it as unnecessary - then it no longer exists.  Have someone else take on the task, removing it from your day.

Recreate

If you're at a workplace, you have staff knocking on your door. If you're at home, then it may be your spouse or children.  However, at the end of the day, somebody interrupts to ask you a question.

To recreate this distraction, ensure that you have provided the ability for your team members to take on the task. That is ensuring you've empowered them with the authority to decide, the responsibility to do the work, and the accountability for the result. Think of it like a three-legged stool, with authority, accountability, and responsibility as the legs of the stool. If you remove one of the legs, the stool will fall unless it has something or someone to lean on. As a manager, a boss, or an owner, if you're not empowering your staff, they will lean on you.  You're going to end up having to do the work. By empowering the team, you change the habit of coming to you, and you have recreated the task removing it as a distraction.

Eliminate

What do you have in your day that you shouldn't do or should do less of?  Many people could cut online gaming, scrolling through social media, or watching television. How many streaming services do you have? Do you need them all, or are you spending too much time watching television?  Should you be working more in your business? Consider what you can eliminate from your day and put your time to better use with a task that requires your expertise.

Delegate

Business owners have a passion, something they're very good at and love.  Often, that is not social media. Social is an area that is vital for business today.  However, it does not require the business owner to do it themselves. This is a key task that can be delegated to a staff member or third-party consultant.  Another individual can handle posts and elements of finding content on behalf of the business. Although key content may need the owner, moving general elements of the activity away from the business owner's plate is critical.  Look at the tasks you do in a day, there are other tasks you can delegate.  Ask yourself, is this something that will cost us time or money if I don't do it?  Can I let go and have someone else take this on? The answer may surprise you.

Ready, Set, Go!

Implementing the R.E.D.  Formula (Recreate, Eliminate and Delegate) will help you be more effective by reducing distractions. The less you are distracted, the easier it will be to remove Squirrel Syndrome from your business. No more shiny objects. Your focus will be on key elements moving your life and business toward your dreams and goals. R.E.D. allows you to operate efficiently while adopting the three keys for your business - Organization, Structure and Wellness.

By Michelle Ricketts

Overall, health and fitness always played a part in Michelle’s life and continue to be part of her consulting approach today, differentiating her from others in the industry. Michelle guides business owners to develop a self-sustaining business, generate more revenue, and take back time to do things that excite them!

Raised by a strong, independent single mother, Michelle’s vision and values were instilled early. Michelle’s entrepreneurial journey started in the 90s in event planning and speaking. In addition to Michelle’s over 30-year Corporate career in Media, Logistics and Financial Services, her passions shaped Michelle’s experience, providing innumerable opportunities to give back as a volunteer.

Passionate about making a difference, Michelle is on a philanthropic foundation, “Board of Advisors,” building sustainable schools in developing countries and supporting Digital Samurai’s efforts, an entrepreneur focused on reducing youth unemployment in Africa through apprenticeships.

Michelle’s 35 years as an Account Executive spanned credit card processing and financial services, transportation, logistics, media, and consulting, with many projects including managing consultative alliances, live event management, and sales team leadership. In 2021 Michelle completed Wardell International Advisor training and had recently undertaken S.O.S. Sales Objection System group training with renowned trainer Joe Marcoux. Her career and entrepreneurial ambitions have taken Michelle outside Canada, providing extensive experience in multiple markets in North America and beyond.

You can find Michelle Ricketts on LinkedIn at https://linkedin.com/in/michellericketts 

In Part 1, we examined three areas of distraction: Business, Individual, and Family. The first step ahead of implementing your solutions is to evaluate your distractions. You may be very organized like me, and if you are, then kudos because that helps you refrain from being distracted.

For others, here is guidance, 3 Keys to Assist with Removing Distractions in Your Business.

Key One – Healthy Habbits

• Establish a healthy morning routine
• Remove physical clutter
• Complete small or difficult projects first
• Turn off smartphone/PC notifications
• Respond to email twice each day (AM/PM)

Let’s look at establishing a healthy morning routine. This will mean something different for each of us.  For me, it starts the night before.   I prepare my business and workout clothes for the next day.  I work out in the morning, and I get my gear ready, so I can jump in and go. 

Create Habits

In the morning, my alarm goes off, I never hit snooze, and I'm up and out within 20 minutes five days a week.  When I return from my workout, I get ready, I’m good to start my day!

If you are like me, your workout is important.  I keep things interesting by doing various activities, including boxing, yoga, HIT workouts, tennis, badminton, weights, spinning, snowboarding, and skiing. 

There are many advantages to working out in the morning when other people are still asleep.  Parking is free, few people want to have a meeting at 6 am, and roads, trails and fitness locations are less crowded. If morning isn't the time you want to workout, then determine when to get it into your day.

Other things that can become part of a healthy morning routine include meditation, journaling, a cold plunge, an ice bath, etc. The key is finding what works to kick-start your day and get you moving.

All these elements must work for you to have a successful morning routine.   It is essential to make your fitness work for you. Not for your spouse, partner, boss, or anyone else. Do it for yourself!   It is the only way you'll keep doing it year after year.

Clutter Cleanup

Remove Physical Clutter is subjective.  It can be as simple as what's on your desk or more complicated when you can’t see the floor of your room, right? Do you have things all over your desk or scattered on the floor?

If you have younger children, you have toys on the floor, there may also be papers, files, and other work-related or personal items.  We want to remove clutter as much as possible. Remember the cheesecake factory menu, so large it is hard to decide. A confused mind does not make decisions. Clutter creates brain confusion.  Remove clutter to make effective decisions and have less to worry about or workaround. 

Get Organized

Complete Small or Difficult Projects First.  This will help get items off your plate.  As human beings, we like to accomplish tasks. You can complete a few small things if you tackle them first. Completing more complicated tasks feels amazing and satisfies our need to complete our checklist.

When I talk about turning off smartphone/PC notifications, people cringe, are horrified by the suggestion, or think I was born in the dark ages.  We don't need our phones every minute of the day.   Even Millennials or Gen Zers need to look up or take a break from their phone now and then.  

When notifications come in, your brain says, "shiny object, shiny object"! because you want to read it. It's human nature. You want to look at it. It distracts you and takes you away from what you're doing.  As a phone or email notification comes in, having your devices on silent or with notifications turned off removes distractions. 

Key Two - Remove Distractions

The Muse.com University of California-Irvine study suggests it takes an average of 23 min 15 sec to get your mind back to the task after a distraction. I am not suggesting you ignore all your notifications.  A great way to remove distractions is to turn off notifications and respond to them between tasks, not during.   You can also set up specifics at a predetermined time, such as checking email twice daily, not immediately when messages come in.   If you're a doctor, surgeon, or rocket scientist, you may need an immediate response.  Yet, most people can wait hours between email responses and even text messages.

The second key Structure can remove distractions by:

• Use A Gatekeeper
• Prioritize Your Work
• Do One Thing at A Time
• Use A Calendar for All Meetings, Tasks, and Bookings

When you use a gatekeeper, you have a buffer between you and others trying to reach you.   A receptionist or virtual assistant can be the first point of contact for an appointment, meeting, or call.  Not everyone needs to reach you first.  Ensure you have someone who can be that buffer for you while you focus on your work.

Prioritizing your work means looking at what is most important in your business.  Ask the question…What do I need to do today, this week, or this month? What's most important?  Are there items that I can complete easily? What are the more critical projects that are going to take more time? 

Avoid multitasking, our brain can only focus on one thing at a time successfully.  I'm not saying that you can't have more than one thing going on at once.  What you want to do is focus on the first task, get that done, then move on to the next, and so on.  If you need to jump between tasks, go from the first task to the second, focus on that, get it done, and go back to the first task.  Jumping back and forth is where the brain gets confused and doesn't let you focus.

Calendar Management

When you use a calendar for all your meetings, tasks, and bookings, it is more effective and will keep you on track. My brother calls me the “Queen of Calendar” and “Queen of Routine.”  I'm not saying to be a robot.  Yet, if you use some of the tools and tips I show you, it will be helpful.

I am giving you a glimpse into my Google calendar.  If you already have Gmail, it is part of the Google Apps offering. (You'll find it in the nine little squares at the top right-hand corner of your Chrome browser). 

On my calendar:

• Appointments/meetings are in red
• Workouts are orange
• General tasks are default blue

The colour code is great because you can look at it on a phone and not have to click to open an item because you understand the colours.  You don't have to have different calendars or keep things in your head, and nothing is missed.

There are those that still prefer a paper calendar. If you're using paper, a tip, get a few highlighters and use colour as well.

Everything goes into my calendar including personal items such as birthdays, doctor/dentist appointments, networking meetings, or a business or pleasure lunch.  Whatever it is, it's all on my calendar and helps with structure and planning to look at everything together.

Items are moveable. When you click on items in the calendar, you can move them.  When something didn't get done, I moved it into another time slot or day.  As you put things on the calendar, you will see where you are fully booked and have run out of time.  Often, we have a list of tasks we want to do in a day. However, there are only 24 hours, and you're not working on all of them.  You can only book the time you have available. Your calendar is a visual representation of your time blocks.

Make sure fun, family, and self-time are all booked too.  If it's not, you will most likely book something else. Book everything in your calendar, even times when you don't want anything booked, and block that off as well to keep it open.

Self-Help

Here are a couple of different things that others have suggested for “structure”. These may work for you too;

"The 4-hour Work Week", a popular self-help book.  It focuses on a promise of, getting to what you want to do now, enjoying life and not waiting till the end of your career.  

https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B002WE46UW/

Recently, I was introduced to the "12-week Year".  It breaks your year down into 12-week segments rather than 52 weeks. The goals and accomplishments focus on 90 days.

https://www.amazon.ca/12-Week-Year-Others-Months/dp/1118509234/

Key Three - Wellness

This takes us to the third key, Wellness which you may be surprised to find out also removes distractions.

They tell you to put your mask on first on the airplane, right? If you don't put your mask on first, you're not going to have oxygen to be able to help anyone else.  Putting your mask on first in life is taking care of yourself and making sure you manage your own personal wellness.

Setting up an exercise and nutrition plan is key.  It’s about what you enjoy with physical exercise and food, combining what is good for you.

With your nutrition plan, you need vegetables, protein, micronutrients, and macronutrients, while reducing your bad carbs and sugars.  Consider working with a nutritionist to get on track for what you need concerning food.

Nutrition and consistency are huge and work together.  21 days is approximately what you need to make a change and form a habit*.  Have fun with it so that you enjoy what you’re doing. If you don't, you will not keep up any consistency. You won't have fun, and you won't keep it going.

For the final piece of this trilogy, uncover how to implement these keys in three easy steps in “Discover 3 Keys to Stop Suffering from Squirrel Syndrome In Your Business | Part 3”

Source: https://thebestbizreview.com/the-21-90-rule-can-help-build-good-habits-and-a-lasting-lifestyle-change/

By Michelle Ricketts

Overall, health and fitness always played a part in Michelle’s life and continue to be part of her consulting approach today, differentiating her from others in the industry. Michelle guides business owners to develop a self-sustaining business, generate more revenue, and take back time to do things that excite them!

Raised by a strong, independent single mother, Michelle’s vision and values were instilled early. Michelle’s entrepreneurial journey started in the 90s in event planning and speaking. In addition to Michelle’s over 30-year Corporate career in Media, Logistics and Financial Services, her passions shaped Michelle’s experience, providing innumerable opportunities to give back as a volunteer.

Passionate about making a difference, Michelle is on a philanthropic foundation, “Board of Advisors,” building sustainable schools in developing countries and supporting Digital Samurai’s efforts, an entrepreneur focused on reducing youth unemployment in Africa through apprenticeships.

Michelle’s 35 years as an Account Executive spanned credit card processing and financial services, transportation, logistics, media, and consulting, with many projects including managing consultative alliances, live event management, and sales team leadership. In 2021 Michelle completed Wardell International Advisor training and had recently undertaken S.O.S. Sales Objection System group training with renowned trainer Joe Marcoux. Her career and entrepreneurial ambitions have taken Michelle outside Canada, providing extensive experience in multiple markets in North America and beyond.

You can find Michelle Ricketts on LinkedIn at https://linkedin.com/in/michellericketts 

Ever heard of a cat or dog being distracted by something that catches their attention, like a squirrel, and they lose focus?  That happens to humans in business as well.

The problem is when we are doing work, multitasking and distractions come into play. We may not even realize or notice we're a victim of distraction. We commonly feel like we're getting work done and being productive when we are not.

Did you know that when we are distracted or multitasking, that takes our IQ down to that of an eight-year-old child and increases errors?

¹Source: https://www.talentsmarteq.com/articles/Multitasking-Damages-Your-Brain-and-Your-Career,-New-Studies-Suggest-2102500909-p-1.html/

We need to remove as many distractions as possible from our day. We're never going to get rid of them all, we're not robots, and there are things we can't control.

Here is an overview of where distraction may occur in business.

Staff - Staff coming into your office, calling, or messaging.

Training - You can be interrupted to provide training for a staff member that needs your help.

Meetings – Meetings can be distracting when trying to do other work and trying to do other work can also distract you from hearing what is being said.

Once distracted, we feel like we're back at 100 percent, yet the brain hasn't quite refocused yet. Did you know that it takes 23 minutes for the brain to refocus on a task when you're away from it?²

²Source: https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newHTE_94.htm#:~:text=How%20Long%20Does%20It%20Take,10%20IQ%20points%20%5B2%5D.

Customers - People joke that life would be great if it weren’t for dealing with customers. Customers are our lifeblood, and it is paramount that we care for them as it keeps our business running.

We don't always know the challenges we are going to face, and they may leave us feeling like we're going in ten different directions, distracted.

As individuals, we have lots of distractions that may include:

Gadgets - Your phone, computer, apps, email, texts, and notifications. Some devices or apps are great and helpful but can still be distracting.

Environment/Noise - Neighbours or workers is something you come across occasionally in an office environment but working from home increases this distraction especially when in a zoom meeting.

Social Media- Have you experienced scrolling for a few minutes, then you’re still there an hour later?  I've done it myself. Social media is essential if you use it for business. However, we need to structure our time on social media and not go down a rabbit hole.

World Events - The Russian invasion of Ukraine, Covid 19, high gas prices, or climate change discussions are important world occurrences we have no control over. They touch us, some more so than others.

Mental Fog – Often, fog is caused by too much going on in your head. We realize we're not focused because of something happening at your child's school, someone not well in the family, or a big event. It makes mental noise when it distracts you from what you are doing.

Money - Most of the distractions around money are typically negative. It'd be wonderful to experience the distraction because of winning a million dollars. Unfortunately, much of the time, the distraction around money is the scarcity or resolving what to do with money.

Vacation - Surprised to see vacation on my list of distractions?  Vacation is something that we think of as unique or rejuvenating. It's beautiful, yes, and if you're like me, you're due for a vacation.

Think about what you do before and after your time away before we're racing and working on getting things done. We're, trying some of that multitasking that we shouldn't do. We can get distracted from the focus of what we need to do. When we come back, not only are we catching up, but our brains might still be on holiday. We work to get ourselves back into focus on what we need to accomplish.

These are some individual distractions that create challenges for us. Many of these distractions crossover into other areas as well.

The following are where we often see crossover distractions occur with Family, including:

Work/business - When we're at home, we might feel like we should be at work. We might feel like we should be at home at work. That distraction could also become mental fog if the situation is dire enough.

Commitments - Responsibilities we're not used to having on our plate, such as picking the kids up at school, taking the pet to the vet, or driving someone to an appointment, are distractions we must manage. If you have family commitments on your mind, they will prevent you from being able to focus.

Guilt/Overwhelm- You might suffer from guilt related to family tasks. It’s human nature. You might feel guilty being with a client when you think you should be home and distracted.

Overwhelm is something that ties into all kinds of elements in our lives. It can be business, friends, or family. It can create frustration from not handling things we should be able to address and distracts us once again.

Looking at our business, individual lives, and family, what we do about all these distractions is change some habits and adopt new approaches. We can't remove distractions entirely, but there are methods we can look at to address them.

We're going to explore keys to addressing distractions: Organization, Structure, and Wellness in “Discover 3 Keys to Stop Suffering from Squirrel Syndrome in Your Business | Part 2” next week

https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:ugcPost:6945903148590931968?updateEntityUrn=urn%3Ali%3Afs_updateV2%3A%28urn%3Ali%3AugcPost%3A6945903148590931968%2CFEED_DETAIL%2CEMPTY%2CDEFAULT%2Cfalse%29

Overall, health and fitness always played a part in Michelle’s life and continue to be part of her consulting approach today, differentiating her from others in the industry. Michelle guides business owners to develop a self-sustaining business, generate more revenue, and take back time to do things that excite them!

Raised by a strong, independent single mother, Michelle’s vision and values were instilled early. Michelle’s entrepreneurial journey started in the 90s in event planning and speaking. In addition to Michelle’s over 30-year Corporate career in Media, Logistics and Financial Services, her passions shaped Michelle’s experience, providing innumerable opportunities to give back as a volunteer.

Passionate about making a difference, Michelle is on a philanthropic foundation, “Board of Advisors,” building sustainable schools in developing countries and supporting Digital Samurai’s efforts, an entrepreneur focused on reducing youth unemployment in Africa through apprenticeships.

Michelle’s 35 years as an Account Executive spanned credit card processing and financial services, transportation, logistics, media, and consulting, with many projects including managing consultative alliances, live event management, and sales team leadership. In 2021 Michelle completed Wardell International Advisor training and had recently undertaken S.O.S. Sales Objection System group training with renowned trainer Joe Marcoux. Her career and entrepreneurial ambitions have taken Michelle outside Canada, providing extensive experience in multiple markets in North America and beyond.

You can find Michelle Ricketts on LinkedIn at https://linkedin.com/in/michellericketts 

Do you have a coach? | Why have a coach? | Would a coach make a difference as you grow your business?

If you have a coach

• Is your coach someone you are developing a relationship with?
• Or is your coach more like your confidant. . .someone who is a professional listener. . .someone who is strong at asking those pointed questions that have you calling upon your experience with your blinders off and thinking?
• Is your coach good at helping you build confidence in your role?
• Is your coach someone you depend on for training in a particular skillset or mindset?

Coaching has significantly expanded over the past several decades to the point that it is now a multi-billion industry worldwide. From corporations to individuals, coaching has become a respected approach to facilitating change. No matter what you want help with, I can say with reasonable certainty that you should be able to find a coach to work with you.

Does Coaching Make a Difference?

Be you an individual, a solopreneur or an organization, coaching may mean the difference between success and failure. Coaching may make the difference between growth and stagnation.

What results might you expect? According to studies done on the impact of coaching in the business environment, three things are likely to improve: engagement, productivity, and results. Check out the article written by John Brubaker. He reports you are more likely to have strong business results when you work with a coach.

Who should have a coach?

Everyone should have a coach. That’s what Eric Schmidt said. Eric was the CEO at Google at the time. Eric thought so highly of his coach that he participated in writing a book about him.

What made Eric’s experience with his coach so positive? I can only guess but I believe that these four characteristics, as cited in an article by Stacey Alcorn, must have had a significant impact on his attitude and success. To her, good coaches are people with whom you build a relationship. Everything flows from there. She adds the following elements:

• In the first place, your coach should be interesting. If you are not looking forward to the time you spend together, something is terribly wrong. Are you enjoying the time you are spending with your coach?
• Secondly, do the ROI evaluation. What are you getting out of your coaching sessions? Are you fulfilling your purpose? That is, are you working toward accomplishing the objectives that you targeted for achievement?
• Thirdly, does your relationship with your coach go beyond coaching? Are you both experiencing other professional benefits such as referrals or introductions?
• And lastly, Alcorn asks if your coach is more than your coach. My clients tend to become lifelong friends. Do you regard your coach as your friend?

Should you DIY or Hire a Coach? 

Do you tend to be a DIYer? Are you the kind of person who likes to figure things out for yourself? Or are you the kind of person who seeks answers from reading books and articles? If you tend to be a DIYer who plays with your ideas by talking about them, would it be helpful to entertain your ideas out loud in a conversation with someone you know, like and trust? You can still be a DIYer with a coach. Your coach may be the mirror or the sounding board that keeps you from getting distracted.

As a leader in an organization of one or of many, no matter how many things you are being challenged to deal with at any given time . . . no matter how many areas you are focusing on, . . . a coach can be the bright light in your life to raise your spirits, challenge you to improve and increase engagement.

Your coach can be your cheerleader, your challenger and your champion. Your coach can challenge you to go beyond your pre-conceived limitations. Coaches can simultaneously be your accountability partner, your change agent, your strategy consultant and your professional listener. It’s the job of your coach to push and prod and poke and praise and help you achieve the outcomes you seek.

By Donna Dahl

Donna Dahl, M. Ed., is more than an empowerment coach. She is a leading executive strategist and catalyst for change, working with leaders, teams, employees and entrepreneurs.

Through her neuroscience-based approach, she is well-poised to disseminate skill development, empowerment and engagement. Her award-winning track record speaks for itself. She is the author of Lessons I Learned from the Tortoise, a five-star rated book designed to gently challenge the reader to consider change. She welcomes opportunities to discuss your challenges. https://www.linkedin.com/in/donnadahl/