Working on Your Business: Where to Focus
Ironically, running an SMB requires a ton of focus, as you often have far more things to manage with less manpower to do it. That’s why knowing exactly where to focus at any given moment is a primary skill employees at any level should master. One of the most essential aspects of working on your business is being receptive to new ways of using your focus, even (or especially) when it’s complicated. Ultimately, it’s about changing habits at the most fundamental level: your mindset.
Sighting the Most Essential Focal Points
Focus is not just a managerial issue. One poll revealed 60.6% of employees stated they rarely achieve even one or two hours of deep, focused work. Here are just three of the most important areas to address when taking steps to tighten up your and your team’s focus.
#1: Reduce Company-Wide Interruptions
It’s no surprise that constant interruptions reduce flow, and with it, productivity. Yet as a good manager, you must be available to your team, while still working on your business. Striking the right balance requires clarity on which matters are essential, requiring timely notification, vs. those that can wait.
If employee distractions are disrupting your own focus, it’s time to identify and eliminate company-wide issues that are interrupting everyone’s flow.
#2: Working on the Business Without Distraction
This goes both ways, meaning as a manager, you must be prepared to carve out quality time to be working on your business alone and hammer out your most essential duties whenever your staff hits a smooth, self-managing stride.
When organizing your own workflow, note how much time and focus each task requires, and plan accordingly. According to the Harvard Business Review, greater self-awareness is one of the keystone skills in honing and applying your focus to greater effect.
#3: Simplify
It might be tempting to interpret these lessons as a need to reduce efforts — but it’s actually about reducing clutter. The more streamlined your operations are, the more you can keep your hands in countless business processes without losing sight of the road ahead.
Working on Your Business When and Where It Counts Most
Focus becomes particularly difficult during challenges or transitions, but that’s exactly when it matters the most. Those who maintain it can weather changing conditions far better than their competitors, who lack the same mental anchors and team-building habits.
Maintaining your focus and directing it where it belongs is not just helpful; your stakeholders depend on it. If you need help working on your business, and focussing on the matters that affect your bottom line, professional business coaching may be for you.
For an outside view of where your focus belongs, contact AMB Performance Group, and schedule your initial coaching session today.
