This past few weeks has brought into a brighter light one of
the obstacles that we, as home business owners, have to endure
all the time… unexpected interruptions. Sure, interruptions
don’t just happen to home business owners but we seem to have
the most unique ones.
For instance, this past few weeks I have had to deal with what
seems to be an increase of telemarketing calls; insurance
companies, doctors, repair shops, and lawyers following my
husband’s car accident; a husband who now has too much time on
his hands waiting for his truck to be repaired; and a child who
wants her mommy to cuddle with her while she is a home sick.
Some of these interruptions are necessary and have to be dealt
with but others can become an annoyance. There is nothing worse
than being in the middle of putting together an important
proposal or on a roll designing a website when the phone rings
and you hear someone on the other end asking if you want new
windows installed.
Each of us has to cope with the daily stream of interruptions…
its just part of running a home business. But, how we deal with
them will determine how they affect our daily tasks and
productivity.
Interruptions, such as the dreaded telemarketing calls, can be
brought down in size. Sure, you could let your answering machine
take all the calls but then you would be taking away from the
personal touch that your business normally projects to your
clients. Not to mention you might lose potential clients when
they don’t want to talk to an answering machine or leave a
message.
The next plausible answer would be to subscribe to a Call
Display service from your local phone company. Now, sometimes a
phone number that is displayed may look familiar but when you
pick up the phone you soon realize that it’s not who you thought
it was. But, more often than not, having Call Display saves you
the trouble of even picking up the phone when you see a number
of someone you just don’t have time to talk to. You just look at
the display and then make the decision if you want to pick up or
not. That takes no time at all.
Other personal interruptions, such as your kids running into
your office and asking you to bring up a web site they just saw
listed on the Family Channel, or your spouse wanting to share
some local gossip, don’t have to break your concentration. These
interruptions can be controlled. Be sure that when you are in
the middle of anything of importance, that your family
understands that you will be with them shortly and that usually
what they need is not earth-shattering and can wait a few
minutes.
Another interruption that can be controlled (or at least
minimized) is the time you spend going through all the unwanted
email that shows up. It’s actually a never ending step that has
to be done but it is worse when you don’t do it. Most email
programs and services give you the option of putting certain
email addresses on a blocked list or have any mail that comes in
from a certain address moved automatically to the Trash folder.
By going directly there, you don’t spend the time looking to see
if the email is anything of interest.
At times there may be interruptions from your daily routine that
can’t be avoided, such as meetings or a trip to the business
supply store. For these types of interruptions, try to schedule
them for the same day… kill two (or more) birds with one stone.
If you need to visit a client’s office, be sure to have a list
ready of supplies you need to pick up at the office supply store
or other errands you may need to run that are in the same area.
This is just a few ways to help minimize those things that come
up during our busy days that we don’t have planned.
Interruptions will continue to happen, usually on a daily basis.
We just have to learn how to deal with them and still maintain
our professionalism and productivity.
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