I am very good at multi-tasking. At least that is what I tell myself but when I look at the outcome it is obvious that my multitasking is making me loose focus and distracts me from what is most important.
This is where time thieves start to sneak in and at the end of the day I have the feeling I was very busy but at the same time I did not get anything done.
Does this sound familiar?
A classical example of time thieves and distractions that come to mind is when I try to get stuff done in our box. Too often I have picked up my laptop to finish some important tasks like sending an important email to the accountant, or set up a membership but half way through a client shows up and starts chatting.
I remember one time I sat and tried to write a “brilliant” birthday email to a member and then got distracted. Emotionally I got so annoyed at the client who interrupted me that I could feel I gave a snarky comment covered with a stressed smile. The client got the hint and I could see he felt bad which resulted in me feeling stupid, but the harm was done.
We small talked for some minutes and then when I got to my laptop again I recalled I had not answered a WhatsApp so I pulled up my phone started texting another client and forgot about the email. And also forgot about that the client who earlier interrupted me had told me he was happy to be a member for a year.
Before I could end my WhatsApp message one of my coaches came and told me something was wrong with the speaker, so I took off to fix the speaker.
At the end of it I did not get anything done. I never wrote the birthday email, I neglected a happy client and forgot to text another’s program.
That moment I realised the gym is not where things get done. It has to happen where I cannot get distracted and where I also don’t hurt my clients and coaches by being distracted. Time thieves are not always the result of tasks we should not do, but they can be the result of a distracted multitasking mind.
The solution is to stop multitasking and to have an environment where you cannot get distracted.
It requires to set out that time and space in the calendar. That time should be marked “CEO time” on your calendar. If it is not there it is a sign you need to have it.
Cheers
Rickard
Ps. In Part 2 I will write about time thieves you have to kill because they could be the reason your business is suffering.
