BUSINESS BREAKTHROUGH #2
Put Out the Fire
Every day in our businesses we are burning through cash—and we don’t even know where it’s going! I can hear you now: I bet you think you’re the exception. You know I haven’t looked at your numbers, so how dare I predict such waste? I dare because I have observed that constant distractions are impeding productivity—yours, your staff’s, and your employees’. This is costing your business some serious money.
A recent study found that the time wasted as a result of constant distractions is costing the U.S. economy $997 billion every year, and 89 percent of employees don’t complete their top three tasks each day due to distractions.
Employees are wasting 759 hours each year due to workplace distractions. That equals 19 weeks—almost 5 months every year! One study found that workers check their email on average 40 times a day, even when there has been no notification or email alert. These distractions are like kryptonite. They are killing your productivity, which has a direct effect on your profitability.
Studies show that every time we get distracted, it takes approximately 23 minutes to get refocused. To make matters worse, the average U.S. worker feels the pull of distraction every three minutes.
We can change this negative pattern if we are willing to take charge of our time. Perhaps it isn’t time management that is our biggest issue these days, but self-management. Simple tools make a powerful difference. Business Breakthrough #3 provides one to help you turn things around.
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