What traits do all successful people have in common?
They have all perfected the art of focus, time management, and motivation to become leaders in their field. Successful people recognize the need to stay on task to complete it quickly and efficiently while maintaining optimal quality of their work. The ONLY way to achieve this is by practicing focus techniques and not letting yourself get distracted, and if you should get distracted, not staying there long.
Entrepreneurs, C-level executives, and the top producers in the sales field are all able to keep their mind focused on their strengths, passions, and their plans for success. Having a vision of what success looks like and working toward achieving that goal is what sets winners apart from mediocre professionals. Use your best traits to stay focused and achieve your goals without wasting your time or money.
I believe focus is so important to your success that I’ve taken the time to outline some of the most vital tips.
Tips for Staying Focused
- Closed Door Policy: This is something I’ve talked about in the past and it’s still important now. You gain nothing by the amount of times you allow your employees to interrupt your focus, but you gain everything by the quality of the interactions during the limited times you have them. Retain your focus and keep your office door SHUT.
- Creative Comes First: It seems counter-intuitive to focus on harder tasks earlier in the day rather than later but that’s not the case. If you follow my advice to begin your day with meditation, exercise, and healthy eating habits, your brain will be functioning at an optimal level to tackle your most challenging tasks. Use this time to make your required sales calls while your energy will read as upbeat and positive over the phone. Get through them quickly and resume your deskwork responsibilities.
- Stop Multitasking – NOW!: It might seem productive to multitask, and in some ways, it can be, but it has been scientifically proven that multitasking as a norm lowers your IQ, weakens your mental aptitude, and causes your work to compare with someone who’s missed a night of sleep or smoked marijuana. Your brain’s ability to get back to work on one task after you’ve interrupted it wastes time and money. Stop doing it!
- Schedule Your Day: How many times have you heard me say this? Scheduling your day meticulously is the key to success. Every time you break your concentration to check your email or pick up the phone, it takes 20 minutes to regain focus on the task in front of you. Schedule three times you should check your email each day, perhaps once in the morning, once at lunch, and once before you close up shop for the day. Don’t let this neural reward/distraction cause you to lose time and money throughout your day. Just schedule a time for it.
To learn more about getting focused and staying there, join me in one of my sales mastermind groups and private one-on-one business and sales training courses. I’m looking forward to achieving our goals, together.
