THOSE PESKY INTERRUPTIONS!

How often do you get to the end of the day and think where the hell did that go?! As you’ve been absolutely flat out… … yet the important stuff you wanted to get done is still sat there waiting for your attention.

Because for all your best efforts, you’ve been dragged from one end of the business to the other.

·????? Fixing stuff.

·????? Mopping up disasters.

·????? Having unexpected meetings.

·????? And being constantly interrupted by what feels like a needy team who can’t

think for themselves or make the simplest of decisions.

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Frustrating isn’t it?!

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Because how long have some of those tasks been sat on your to-do list… and when did you actually take some time to think strategically about your business? If you’re like most MDs, the answer is probably longer than you care to remember…

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So, I want to give you a couple of ways you can claw some precious time back.

And no, I’m not going to tell you to turn off notifications on your phone or anything else you’ve heard a million times before! Instead, these are things that you haven’t heard of and will make a massive difference, even though they are so simple.

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The first is an easy way of reducing the time of an “average interruption”. Let me ask you a question… Have you ever noticed that there are at least one or two people in your organisation who regularly knock on your door when they have a ‘quick question’… … but before you know it, they’re sat down, almost with their feet on your desk, taking up what feels like the next hour rambling on about stuff that is important to them but which isn’t helping you or moving the business forward?

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Annoying isn’t it?

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So… here’s what you do. As soon as they knock on the door and ask if you have a moment, stand up and greet them. Just doing that… will prevent them from sitting down. And because you’re both standing, they will naturally take less of your time. I know it sounds too simple to be true.

Another idea that will help you to create yourself more free time…

The second method is what I call the “Triple M”. The ‘Monday Meeting Method.’

Again, it’s really simple and, even better, it will prevent interruptions in the first place. All you need to do is have a short meeting, on a regular basis, specifically for your team to raise all their questions in one go. And although it doesn’t have to be on a Monday morning, that’s a good time because it sets everyone’s focus on what they need to achieve over the next five days.

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Then set a simple rule in place.

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Which is, if anyone wants to come to you with a question or problem, they have to ask themselves the following before they disturb you. “What are the consequences of leaving this question until the next Monday Meeting?”. If the

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consequences are dramatic – such as losing a big client, a major project being delivered late or something that is going to cost the company in some significant way, then they can interrupt you.

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But if not… they have to wait until Monday. And if they do interrupt you before the meeting with something that’s not important, just tell them flatly that you’re not going to answer till Monday.

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So, if they can’t solve it before then, they need to add it to the agenda.

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Again, sounds simple. But if you put this in to practice you’ll rapidly gain the time and space you need to take control and focus on the more important stuff, such as building the business. It will also encourage your team to solve their problems for themselves rather than waiting till the next Monday meeting. So, take action on these two ways of saving time.

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So, take action on these two ways of saving time. And I’ve only shared two of the many ways I know, that will make your business more efficient and enable you to get more done in less time.

Remember to keep reading my messages because every single one contains ideas and insights that will help you make rapid progress.

If you'd like to know more please connect with me...

[email protected]

www.Peakbusinesscoaching.

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