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Dealing With Distractions
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In today’s business world it is not uncommon for many sales
people to work from a home office. At first this may seem like a
great opportunity, however, it does create some unique
challenges. One of the biggest obstacles is the number of
distractions that can take us away from our work and prevent us
from achieving our objectives.
When you work from a home office it is easy to get distracted
from work, especially if it is work that you do not particularly
enjoy like prospecting or cold calling. Watering the plants,
running errands or even doing laundry can be a welcome change
from the daily drudgery of selling. And, if you have young
children, the number of distractions increases dramatically.
I, too, work from a home office and have had to deal with this
challenge. Here are a few ideas that can help manage these
distractions and improve your productivity. - Create an office.
When I first began working from home almost a decade ago, I used
to work at my dining room table. Unfortunately, this put me in
the middle of our household action. My wife would turn on the
television and I would be instantly distracted from my work. In
other cases, she would talk to me or ask me a question simply
because I was in the same room. As a result, it was often
difficult to focus on my work. Now I have an office and do the
majority of my work there. If you don’t have space to create an
office, find somewhere in your house that has the least amount
of traffic and opportunities for distractions.
- Set specific “business” hours. This is particularly important
if you have young children. It can be very difficult for
children to understand that they can’t disturb us while we’re
working. If you have an office, close your door and place a do
not disturb sign on it. This is particularly important if you
are making client calls because it prevents family members from
inadvertently barging in on you during a critical call.
- Use a “to do” list—everyday. Having a list of what you need to
accomplish each day can help keep you focused; otherwise, it
becomes too easy to do other things around the house. If you
know that you need to accomplish a certain number of tasks by
the end of the day, it can prevent you from getting distracted
during the day. One of the challenges with this is that
household duties or running errands are more enjoyable compared
to work we have to complete. However, I have frequently found
that once I get involved in my task, the desire to do something
else fades.
- Set deadlines for the projects you’re working on. Although I
don’t have anyone holding me accountable to these deadlines, it
find that this approach can help keep me on track. You can also
share these deadlines with other people to help keep yourself
focused especially if this type of accountability works for you.
- Give your permission to relax from time-to-time. It’s okay to
allow yourself to get distracted once in a while. As long it’s
not a regular occurrence, you don’t have to worry too much about
it. However, if your relaxation time overtakes your work time,
then you need to reconsider your priorities.
- Share your goals and objections with a group of advisors. This
type of accountability works well for many people because they
know they will have to report their progress on specific
projects.
- Recognize that the results you achieve are a direct result of
the effort you put into your work. When I first started my
private practice, it was easy to put aside work and do chores or
run errands. In my first year, I treated work like a part-time
job, clocking an average of 20-25 hours per week. When I
evaluated my results at the end of the year I realized I
couldn’t afford to maintain this mentality. So I started working
more. And, I got better results. I eventually learned that the
more effort I put into my work, the better results I achieved in
terms of the revenue and income I generated. This made it easier
to avoid the distractions and focus more on my work.
- Lastly, you can try an approach I learned from Brian Tracy
many years. When you find yourself procrastinating on a
particular task or project, repeat the following three words to
yourself over and over. “Do it now.” This can be a great way to
prevent yourself from getting distracted by other things you
would prefer to do.
Distractions are sometimes positive. A break away from work can
clear your mind, give you the opportunity to refresh yourself,
and increase your energy level. However, it is important to
remember that you have a responsibility to yourself and your
business to limit these distractions.
© 2006 Kelley Robertson, All rights reserved.
Kelley Robertson works with specialty retailers to help them
capture more from each sale. He is the author of two books
including the best-seller, Stop, Ask & Listen—Proven Sales
Techniques to Turn Browsers into Buyers.
Receive a FREE copy of 100 Ways to Increase Your Sales by
subscribing to his free newsletter available at http://www.RobertsonTrainingGroup.com.
Kelley speaks regularly at conferences, sales meetings, and
corporate functions. For information on his programs contact him
at 905-633-7750 or Kelley@RobertsonTrainingGroup.com.
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