Focused Work Periods

One of the biggest complaints I hear in my work with business owners and professionals, is not having enough time to get things done.  There’s so much going on in the day to day workings of most companies, that there’s rarely time to stop and focus on one thing…or is there?

There is, you just have to claim it!

One of the strategies that I’ve found works for most people, is to setup appointments with yourself to get things done.  I call these appointments "focused work periods" or FWP’s.

Here’s a couple of pointers on making a "focused work period" work for you:

  1. Prioritize the projects that need to be completed.
  2. Select the one that seems most important to do first.
  3. Break it down into manageable pieces.
  4. Determine what amount of time will be enough either to finish the job, or to complete one or more parts.
  5. Schedule a specific period of time to work on it.
  6. Let your staff, partners or co-workers know that you’ll be unavailable for that period of time.
  7. Let voicemail pickup the phone and the cellphone.
  8. Turn off your email program.
  9. Close your door.

Click here to learn about ACCOMPLISH, my small business productivity program.

Read The 7 Deadliest Time Management Mistakes

By Susan Martin

NYC based Business Coach, Consultant and Strategist Susan Martin is no stranger to entrepreneurship, as she spent the first 25 years of her career running her own successful companies before deciding to dedicate her work to helping others achieve "Business Sanity." A professionally trained business coach, Susan is a popular business workshop facilitator and speaker at events and professional groups in and around New York City. She helps business owners, executives, managers, salespeople and independent professionals stop struggling and learn how to run their businesses easily and effectively so that they can make more money, have less stress and more quality time to enjoy life. Susan's clients want to increase sales and profits, boost productivity, manage their time, motivate their employees, increase performance and leadership skills, plan strategically and have balance in their lives. She provides the guidance, support, encouragement and accountability needed to achieve their goals. If running your business is a struggle, contact Susan to find out how she can help.

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