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Distractions Have you ever been busy all day without accomplishing anything? You were probably distracted. Ever wonder why you feel frustrated at work? Distractions might be stopping you. Ever feel stress? Distractions may be the cause. Distractions are destructive forces that ruin your productivity at work. Examples: Chatty coworkers, personal problems, sunny days, rainy days, holidays, earthquakes, debts, salespeople, money concerns, health problems and more. How do you handle distractions? Get organized. "THOSE INDIVIDUALS OR AREAS THAT ARE THE LEAST WELL-ORGANIZED ARE AFFECTED THE MOST BY DISTRACTIONS." -- L. Ron Hubbard A well-organized business understands distractions and organizes to deal with them. For example, a key worker calls in sick. The group calls a temporary worker from an agency within minutes. A poorly-organized group discusses the problem for 20 minutes without coming to a solution. This group is then distracted all day because they have to do the missing worker's job. When a well-organized business owner gets a legal notice, he or she delegates the problem to a lawyer and focuses on making a prosperous day. A poorly-organized business owner drops everything and spends the entire morning on the telephone and worries about it all day. Well-organized groups handle emergencies, disasters and sudden increases in production without breathing hard. Poorly-organized groups are overwhelmed with them. Personal Organization Organizing your personal life so you are not distracted boosts your productivity and income. For example, you don't need to talk to everyone who calls you. It's also silly to read every piece of mail or email you receive. If you are organized, you ignore all communications that do not support your purpose. While at work, you ignore family problems, personal problems and even health problems. All superior producers do this. While working, nothing is more important than the work. Instead of daydreaming about a hike in the mountains, you do your work as fast as possible so you can take that hike. When you are organized, you avoid, ignore or replace people or things who distract you. How to Get Better Organized 1. Write down five of your biggest distractions. 2. Next to the first distraction, write down how you can get organized to reduce the distraction. 3. Do the same for the other items on the list. 4. Follow your plans and get organized! 5. Write down permanent rules or policies for yourself or your work so you stay organized. Personal examples: "I will only take personal calls during my lunch hour." "If I get hungry during the afternoon, I will chew gum and keep working until 5:00." "I will avoid conflicts with my brother by not talking about my job with him." Business examples: "If someone asks me to do their job, I will ask them for their pay." "If you have a suggestion for the company, please e-mail all the details to me." "Each summer, we will do the following program to keep our sales up, despite the vacations." You make much faster progress toward your goals when you are organized and not distracted. Copyright © 2006 TipsForSuccess.org. All rights reserved. Grateful acknowledgment is made to L. Ron Hubbard Library for permission to reproduce selections from the copyrighted works of L. Ron Hubbard. Take better control of your life with the TipsForSuccess coaching website at www.TipsForSuccessCoaching.org. For permission to copy, print or post this article, go to www.tipsforsuccess.org/reprint_info.htm or click here. To subscribe, buy books, contact us or learn more about TipsForSuccess.org, click here. |
