A mid-week holiday is a good reminder than interruptions don’t have to derail you.
Happy Canada Day!
It’s not often we get a holiday mid-week. For some business owners, it’s a major interruption to business-as-usual (even as we welcome the celebrations and the official start of summer). For others, this is the most focused day of the month – everyone else’s day off is your chance to finally get something done without fielding a constant stream of phone calls, emails, and questions.
Dealing with interruptions is a vital skill in a growing business. Separating the important tasks from the urgent, saying no to busywork, and refusing to get side-tracked by minor issues are habits that protect your sanity and your profit margins.
So to celebrate the holiday, here are three questions to ask yourself to turn down the frequency and volume of your daily interruptions.
1: What are you doing that’s inviting interruptions?
“My door is always open.” “Don’t hesitate to come to me if you have questions.” “I always reply to emails within a few minutes.” “If you can’t get me on the phone, send me a text message.”
Open doors, instant-response culture, and always-available messaging send strong signals about how your time works. If you’re fielding constant questions, what are the chances you’ve been complicit in creating the situation?
(If any of those quotes sound like you, I have 5 specific, practical recommendations. See “Hey Boss, Gotta Minute?”)
2: What’s missing that would prevent the interruption from happening?
People interrupt because a) it’s the fastest way to get an answer, or b) there’s no trusted alternative. The interruption is a symptom of a missing system or a lack of training.
Over the next couple of weeks, keep track of who is interrupting you and why. Look for patterns and trends, and make a plan to cut them off before they happen.
3: Can it wait?
Sometimes an interruption is truly necessary – if the building is on fire, you want someone to let you know. But the majority, despite feeling urgent, can wait. It just takes discipline to decline the distraction and protect your time.
- It could mean blocking off key times – or even an entire day – for focused work. Save the emails and calls for afterwards.
- It could mean instead of jumping into problem-solving mode, you ask your interrupter to come up with some options for solutions themselves.
If you’re dealing with frequent interruptions, these three questions will help you diagnose the real issue, so you can get more done in your day-to-day and relax and enjoy the holidays when they arrive.
This Week’s Takeaway
We manage around a major interruption like a mid-week holiday by planning ahead and communicating about it.
What’s a recurring interruption that you could handle the same way, to create space in your regular workweek for deep thought and focused effort?
Upcoming Event:
ActionCLUB – The Expert Edge
Join ActionCLUB on Friday, July 17th from 10-1 to learn how to communicate and sell your industry expertise, so you become the obvious choice for your ideal clients – the ones who will happily pay what you’re worth.
Details
- Friday July 17th, 10am-1pm
- Located at IDEA Square One, Mississauga
- Interactive session: “The Expert Edge”
- Featuring table discussions & a networking lunch with local entrepreneurs
Learn More About ActionCLUB Here
SYSTEMology: by David Jenyns
SYSTEMology is a practical resource for any business owner who feels like too much of the business still depends on them. David Jenyns challenges the idea that owners need to document every process themselves, instead sharing a framework for building systems that your team can help create, follow, and improve over time.
If you want a digital copy, David has kindly shared it as an audio book on YouTube, and you can pick up the PDF version here!
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