Focus Keeps Distractions At Bay
Distractions are all around us. You sit down at your desk and end up checking email, browsing through Facebook, or getting lost on YouTube watching video after video. We get distracted by new projects, things that need taken care of around the house or the office, and of course by family members and coworkers. With all these distractions it’s a wonder we get anything done. There’s always something else that demands our attention, or a fun new project we’d rather be working on.
This is where focus can make a huge difference and help you get things done. Focus is like a pair of blinders. It helps you concentrate on the task at hand until it is done.
From time to time, businesses analyze their processes in order to simplify. They take a look at their regular operations and look for fat they can trim. The result is greater efficiency for all the actions they take and it helps them get closer to achieving their business goals.
This is an essential process for businesses of any size. Even if you’re just a one-person business or solo freelancer, you should find areas to tighten up, and here are the reasons why.
Improved Efficiency
Trimming the fat and getting rid of excess work increases your efficiency. You can take regular tasks that suck up a great deal of time, money, or energy and find ways to remove them, delegate them to others, or automate them. The result is that you expend fewer resources but get the same results.
Less Mundane Work
When you get rid of tasks that can be trimmed, automated, or delegated, you remove mundane tasks that anyone else can do. This frees you up to take care of things that only YOU can do. The same goes for your team. Getting rid of everyday tasks frees everyone up to focus on creative work, customer service, or “thinking” tasks.
Boost Your Bottom Line
Increasing efficiency in your organization translates sooner or later into increased profits. Your energy, your labor, and your time are all money. Money is also money! If you can save on these precious resources, you can save more of what you earn.
Stress Reduction
If your business processes are inefficient, it’s likely to add to your stress and the stress of your employees. Tasks pile up, paperwork needs to be done, your staff are getting mired in everyday tasks. It’s not a healthy situation. Streamlining reduces stress and allows everybody to take longer lunch breaks and leave work sooner. It also contributes to a better corporate culture.
Improved Customer Service
Whatever changes you make will likely lead to improvements in your customer service. You’ll be able to offer faster response time and optimize your use of resources. Customers won’t have to wait so long to get what they need from you and when they encounter your team, they’ll see happy and fulfilled people rather than people who are stressed and harried. Your team members will be able to take all the time they need to deal with customers appropriately.
Scaling Up
Finally, when your business is bogged down in routine tasks or not getting daily work done, you can’t scale your business when the time comes. When inboxes are swamped with emails, you can’t handle more. With orders piling up, you can’t take more. Once you clear things out and streamline, your business will have the space to grow.
One Task at a Time
Streamlining business processes isn’t a one-time overhaul that presents a massive change to your organization. Rather, it’s a systematic, step-by-step process where you tackle one task at a time. You make changes to one part, implement a new and revised process, and then monitor to make sure things are on track. Then, you’re ready to tackle the next. This makes it a pain-free endeavor.
Cut Out Distractions
Shut the office door, take the phone off the hook, stick your cell phone in a drawer and don’t even think about opening your email program or anything else on your computer that could distract you. Instead, keep only the programs and files you need for the project you’re currently working on open and get to work.
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