Images_Digital_Edition_June_2019

BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT www.images-magazine.com 38 images JUNE 2019 A trick that works for me is to only respond to emails three times a day Marshall Atkinson is a leading production and efficiency expert for the decorated apparel industry, and the owner of Atkinson Consulting. Marshall focuses on operational efficiency, continuous improvement, workflow strategy, business planning, employee motivation, management and sustainability. He is a frequent trade show speaker, article and blog author, and co-founded Shirt Lab, a sales and marketing education company, with entrepreneur Tom Rauen. atkinsontshirt.com emails distract from the main work that needs to be handled by you. The first thing in the morning is when you respond to anything that came in after hours. Get those handled and any outgoing follow- ups that need attention. If you need to write some outgoing emails, do them now. Then, put your email priority aside and work on other things. Like printing or embroidering shirts. Or making sales calls. After lunch, respond to anything that came in. Write some more and then leave it alone. Get more crucial work handled. Remember, don’t look at those emails. You will do that later. Right before you leave, check your emails again. Get those handled and then that’s it for the day. Then, and most importantly, when you get home leave that work stuff at the office. No matter the temptation, do not look at your work email away from the office. Your family and friends need you too. Deflect “Hey, Marshall I just need a minute to talk about the…” Do you get this type of drop-in interruption on a regular basis? I hate them. You lose focus and it’s hard to get back on track with what you were working on. If you have an office door, let everyone know that when the door is closed it is your focused time. But maybe you work in an open- air cubicle or just have persistent people that need their questions answered. The trick to use a verbal judo move. “Oh hey, Cheryl. I’m in the middle of something. Can I come find you in thirty minutes and we can discuss? Thanks!” This phrase allows you to wrest control of the conversation and lets Cheryl know she’s important. It gives her a timeline on when you are going to find her. Cheryl will walk away happy, and you can finish that priority task you were neck deep in when she stuck her head in the door. Plan your day Personally, I like doing the most important things first. As in, it is the very first thing I’m working on that day. Or better, I kicked its butt yesterday. But one thing I’ve learned in running shops all these years is that for me, there are only about two or three major tasks that can be handled a day. These are the gigantic, time-sucking projects that you get saddled with. That’s because there are simply too many things going on in your business. Don’t over-plan by adding too many tasks on your to-do list. Be realistic Instead, be realistic about how long things take. Planning a review for your employee’s compensation for next year? Building a pivot table for a spreadsheet that will analyse all of your production data with colour-coded macros? Receiving a floor-loaded truck with inventory for that new client? These things take time to handle. I’ll bet you have big projects on your plate as well. So why do we cram a dozen of these on our to-do list for a day? It’s just not realistic time-wise. Unless you delegate. That’s right. You’ve heard of that before, right? Sadly, most leaders that I speak with feel that they have to own and do everything in their shop. Here’s a tip. You don’t. It’s 100% okay to give your tasks away to other people. In fact, they don’t even have to work in your building. You can outsource office tasks to virtual assistants. Artwork can be handled with a separate creative team such as Pixel’s Hive. HR and payroll chores can even be handled with a service. Is the reason you keep putting some of the things off on your list is because you don’t really like doing them or don’t have the necessary skills? Get someone else to do it and move on. The importance of breaks It’s a fact. Your brain needs downtime. This means you occasionally need to go and do something else. Go talk to people. Take a walk. Break a sweat. Want more focus? Take more short breaks. Hey, I’m guilty of sitting in a chair for hours working too. Raising my hand right here. However, after I finish one task and before I start another I will get up and move around. Get some water. Do something different. It really helps me focus my concentration for the next round of activities. You can do it too. To get rid of old bad habits you have to replace them with something else. Be the change you seek.…