Images_Digital_Edition_June_2019

BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT 36 images JUNE 2019 www.images-magazine.com Become a ninja time manager Marshall Atkinson explains how to achieve more by not getting distracted D istracted at work? Have you ever wondered how other people and companies seem to accelerate and do so much more than you every day? It seems that some folks veer off the path of what they need to be doing as soon as something interesting pops up: “Hey look, a cat!”, “Wow, balloons”, “Ooohhh, a cat holding balloons”… Joking aside, that doesn’t have to be you. The secret is focus and some time-management ninja habits. So grab another cup of coffee, and let’s breakdown some things that can make an immediate impact on how you get things completed every day. The ‘not distracted’ game plan Let’s talk about ‘putting first things first’. In this industry, it is amazingly easy to start racing down the road on some tangent. When you look up, hours have gone by and the important things you had to do today aren’t even remotely started. A good game plan for handling the important things begins with one simple word: Process. Having a solid process removes the flakiness of people from the work. It’s not Billy’s way of doing something, but the ‘company way’. A good process starts by detailing all of the steps necessary to handle the work. For example, quotes aren’t handled by scribbling the maths on a yellow legal pad. Instead, there is a system in use and any trained person quoting an order for a customer will arrive at the same answer as everyone else. The process defines the maths for the quote and even how and when to follow up with the customer. This should be true for every department, and every task. A good process sets up the rules and expectations for your business to run properly. Priorities within the process Another level of planning within your process is how you prioritise the work. Let’s say you have five quotes to send to customers or