The facts are the more people you work with or the more employees you have the more interruptions you’re going to have – if you allow it to happen.
The funny, or not so funny thing, is that many of the interruptions you get from the people you work with have nothing to do with business – like hearing about last night’s basketball game that went into double over-time – and can be entirely avoided.
By not being there for your people not only do you and the people around you become more productive, but it also promotes leadership.
Indirectly you will empower them by allowing them to make their own decisions and in the long run it will lead to more productivity and less baby sitting.
If you want to get the highest and best use of your time here are some tips that will help you have more control over your calendar and improve your productivity and your organization’s productivity.
Be Invisible
Presence does not equal production. It’s better to not tempt your team or people to interrupt you by just not being around.
Anybody who’s ever taken an extended vacation knows that people miraculously figure things out on their own if you’re not around. If people can’t find you, they can’t interrupt you.
If you have to be in the office keep the door closed and DON’T answer if people knock.
They’ll get upset the first few times, but after a while they’ll respect your time and get the point.
If you’ve trained people well enough they will be able to put out most fires and if they can’t they can give you a call or send you an email about it.
Let them know in advance to only call or send an email if they can’t handle something and you’ll reply within a day or 2.
Try to keep text messages for ABSOLUTE emergencies only.
Dumb-down the Smart Phone
For some reason whenever a phone rings or buzzes people feel a compulsion to answer it.
It seems like we’ve been conditioned to answer the phone and respond to text messages and emails like Pavlov’s dogs.
Just because people have an obsession to react to their phone they’ll assume you do too – if you let them.
Like business guru Dan Kennedy says, nobody has any moral or legal responsibility to answer phones or respond to messages immediately.
If you constantly respond to calls or messages on your smart phone you’ll slowly, but surely allow the day to get away from you.
So here are a few things that will help.
Turn off all sounds and notifications on your phone. You won’t be tempted to respond if you don’t know somebody has texted you or called.
While you’re at it, turn off any audible notifications on your laptop or desktop as well.
Put your phone on airplane mode when you’re working on a task that can’t afford any interruptions. Obviously you can respond to anything later.
If there’s a landline, just unhook it from the wall if you can’t afford to be interrupted and must complete a task.
Key People List
If you have a receptionist, assistant, or secretary you can give them a list of key people that you’ll take calls from. Keep the list short to keep yourself from going crazy.
Maybe your list of key people could be your family, important clients, and a few friends.
Manage your time wisely and block out some time to ONLY return calls, emails, and text message that are important.
Warning: If you’re a sales manager or network marketer you should always take calls and be there for your sales people as sales are the lifeblood of an organization.
Sales professionals should also always take calls from clients as well, no excuse.
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