Where does the time go?

One of the common complaints I hear from business owners is that they don't have enough time in the day for everything they have to do.

And yet when I question them a little more it seems that there's a common underlying problem.

Interruptions.

Interruptions from staff, interruptions from customers, interruptions from suppliers - you get the picture.  (And we haven't even mentioned cold calling - we get about 5 calls a week from printer cartridge salesmen - particularly annoying as we're paperless!).

And those interruptions get even worse when you have your email on all the time.  Who hasn't been tempted to sneak a peak at their inbox - and then their attention is diverted by that new email.

And don't think that each of these interruptions just takes 5 minutes.  You can double or treble that interruption when you include the time you need to spend getting your mind re-focussed on that task you were initially working on.

So I've got a couple of quick suggestions:

• Only switch your email on two or three times a day.  It will be hard to begin with but you'll soon get the hang of it (it's commonly suggested that it takes 21 days to form a new habit - so stick with it!).
• Set aside at least 30 minutes a day when you can't be contacted - by anyone!  And spend that time working 'on' your business rather than 'in' your business.

Remember, unless you're a doctor or a surgeon, what you do is not life threatening and your business won't fail if you can't be reached for a few hours.

And I believe if you make these two simple changes to your business, you'll be amazed at the difference it makes.