By Neil Phillips.
Do you ever have a day when you feel ‘out of control’ in your business? Does it feel like you are on a racetrack running from one urgent task to the next? Do you ever miss a deadline or forget to call someone? Are you over your head ‘in the emotion’ of your business? A time-out might be in order.
You might use this type of time-out with a misbehaving child. When our children were around two, we first started using time-outs. They would behave in a way that was not appropriate. Usually, the child was ‘out of control,’ totally ‘in’ his emotions. After a few minutes on the step, the child would calm down, rational behavior returned, and our child was ready to ‘learn the lesson’ and a new way to approach the situation in the future. Taking time-out in your business can provide the same kind of discipline that my children learned by sitting on the steps.
The Daily Time-Out
How might your day look different if you started with just 15 minutes to think about your day and plan? Just listing everything jumping around in your head as ‘must dos’ can defuse your sense of chaos and bring calm back to your thinking. A calm mind produces a clear plan, which creates a quiet day!
The Event Time-Out
How about scheduling an hour after each significant event or project for a time-out? What might you learn if you took the time to reflect and ask yourself a few simple questions:
- What went well?
- What will I do the same next time?
- What didn’t go so well?
- What will I do differently next time?
- What do I want to be sure to remember about this experience?
- What did I learn?
Take a time out as you begin to plan your event or project to review the notes from your previous time-outs. You will save time, money, frustration, and energy!
The Emotional Time-Out
We all experience emotions that keep us from our maximum productivity: Anxiety, anger, resentment, sadness, and sorrow. Take a time-out when you realize that an emotion is clouding your focus.
- What am I feeling?
- What is causing this feeling?
- What can I do to change how I feel?
- Is now the right or wrong time to work on this?
Time-outs are one way we work ‘on our business’ not ‘in our business.’ Stay tuned to learn more about the power of working ‘on your business instead of ‘in your business.’
Want More Leadership Ideas?
Being a leader is more than managing sales and recruiting. You lead people. The Direct Selling Leaders Network is the Facebook group known as a safe place to share questions and answers about growing your business. Leaders are curious. This is a great group to find out some answers.
The Direct Selling Leaders’ Network is the Facebook group for leaders like you. This social learning community is the premier online community for direct selling leaders, future leaders, and those who want to create their future. Leadership is a way of life, not just a position. Join us as we add new FREE content every week! Recruiting, Getting Your Team to Work, and Tips on Working Smarter, Not Harder. NOT A MEMBER? Please join some of the best leaders in direct sales.
