I told you last week about the day I spent at Dave Ramsey’s EntreLeadership event in Charleston. Since then I’ve been thinking a lot about how I can become more efficient. I realized that distractions are probably costing me a lot of money. It’s something that I probably already knew, but just hadn’t thought it was something that I needed to change. But now I’m working to become more focused throughout my day. Why? Because distractions can be costly. Here are some examples:
Email Distractions
The problem: If I was ever polled and asked how many times I check my email throughout the day, I really wouldn’t be able to answer. I check my email constantly. I always have it open and anytime I see there is a new message I click my email tab and read it. Every time I do that I am thrown off from the job I am working on, costing me more time and inevitably costing me more money.
The change: I am now keeping my email tab closed. I am scheduling in a few checks a day. Rather than responding to emails as they come in which is a very reactive way to work, I will respond to them in accordance to how it fits into my schedule.
Working-at-Home Distractions
The problem: Just last week I heard someone say, “it takes a special person to be able to work from home.” There are so many distractions I really couldn’t even list them all but right now my biggest ones are my dogs and the workmen who are coming in and out to complete a renovation project. These distractions make it very difficult to work from home. Although I say I cannot afford the added expense of renting an office, I would probably be shocked by how much more work I could accomplish from an office outside of the home.
The change: I have been given a desk in an office free of charge. It’s a place I am welcome to work from at any time. I plan to take advantage of this kind gesture more often, working from there several afternoons a week. I will also spend several mornings working from quiet local coffee shops.
Miscellaneous Distractions
The problem: Have you ever been distracted while making dinner and burned it? Or left a sprinkler on so it flooded your yard? Or forgotten about a library book that was due three weeks ago? I’m sorry to say that stuff like this happens to me all the time. Thankfully I don’t waste too much food, but I have definitely wasted water and I have a small tab with the local library.
The change: I need to stop multi-tasking. While it can be a great way to accomplish several things at once it can also be a great way to get distracted. I am going to try focusing harder on the task at hand, living in the moment, rather than thinking about and doing several things at once.
How have distractions cost you money? Are there any steps you can take to change that?