Focus, Discipline and Distractions?

Most business owners will tell you that no two days in business are ever the same.  Every day brings

a new challenge, and hopefully every day takes you one step closer to achieving a goal. 

As a business owner you need to value every minute of every day.  You need to be able to respond quickly to your clients and customers and solve new problems as they arise.

However, it is easy to become distracted.  When a business strays from its core business, loses sight of what customers want, or the owner takes their eye off their cash flow and profitability, it can be a slippery slope to disaster.

So how do you protect yourself from becoming distracted?

1.    Have a Plan!  Too many small businesses do not take time to plan.  And I’m not just talking about an overall business plan, I’m talking about a financial plan (aka a Budget), monthly/weekly/daily sales targets, a plan for capital investment and human resources, a marketing plan, and the list goes on.  However, these plans do not need to be lengthy documents!  A tool we use with our clients is a “Plan on a Page” – everything you need to know about your business on a sheet of A3 paper!

2.    Take Control of your Attention.  The key to taking control of distractions is to know what they are.  Plan (yes, there’s that word again) your day, and then monitor how closely you stick to that plan.  What tasks did you choose to prioritise? Do these tasks serve your clients/customers and/or improve your business performance or position?  Were there unplanned tasks during the day?  Did you take longer on some tasks than expected?  What distracted you? 

Technology can push information into our lives whether we want it or not, and at a time that may not be convenient – and the list of things that demand our attention is long – social media alerts, emails, phone calls, text messages.  While technology is an important tool, today’s “always on/always available” digital culture means that we end up working in a reactive mode, allowing others to dictate our work.  To overcome this, we must be strategic and plan how/when we use technology to our advantage. 

Making changes to how we work to be more focused, disciplined and less distracted takes time and effort, however, the rewards are worth it.  If you need help planning and prioritising call the professional business advisors at UHY Haines Norton on 4972 1300.