One Habit To Reduce The Impact Of Interruptions

Did you know that there's one habit that separates the people that successfully manage interruptions and one habit that determines if you do not. So in this week's start your week with a coach episode, we're going to be talking about how to handle interruptions with grace so that they don't hold you back, so they don't trip you up so much that you're not productive. Start your week great. Start your week with a coach. I'm your host, certified high performance coach Sean Butner, and we're going to talk about something that'll help you advance in your life this week. So let's go. Welcome to the show. If you're new, if you are returning, welcome back. I really enjoy your support. So thank you so much for being here with me. And if you would, would you comment below whether you're on my blog or you're watching us on YouTube, just to say hey so I can shout at you, okay. And recognize you. Okay? Now, this week, if you've ever had the experience where you're about to work on code, you're in a good mood, you got your coffee, got some music going, you're kind of getting in the groove. You do a little bit of typing. It could be any type of work. And there's a door or knock at the door, knock back, and it's like, hey, I need some help real quick, right? And it's early in the morning and hey, I need help real quick turns into a half a day endeavor, a full day endeavor. And now you're behind on your projects, you're behind on your work, you did a good thing and helped somebody else out, but you are now stressed and maybe feeling a little bit overwhelmed and a little bit annoyed that you are behind, but that's okay. So you sit back at your desk, you know, get into that good flow state again. You're about ready to start. And then knock, knock. The next interruption comes. And I have dealt with this in corporate America so many times. You know, people generally think that their priorities are the most important priorities. That's why it's called a priority, I think. And so they have no qualms in interrupting what you're doing and what you need to accomplish in order to get their stuff done. Right? And I know that seems a little harsh, but in my experience, it's just people trying to get through the day, trying to get things done and, you know, just part of doing business. Right. But at the end of the day too, it's your job to manage who gets your attention. What gets your focus and what gets done every day. And as your coach, as your high performance coach, it's my job and my duty actually to say that you need to be pushing your meaningful projects forward each day. Whether that's, you know, relationships, whether that's prioritizing your health, whether that's making sure the projects that you're working on are moving forward at the progress and clip that you want. Because if you're, if those projects and things are not moving forward in a positive direction, it's not anybody else's fault but yours. And I know that's a bit strong, but it's meant to be a little bit challenging. And I think if you really think about it, you know that that's true. And there are strategies that can help you manage this, right? So it's not that it's your fault, it's just that maybe you need a different perspective to take a look at this because the art of managing our attention in today's world is insane. You know, the amount of technology that allows other people to access our eyeballs, our attention, our focus, our presence 247 has only increased over the last 10 years. I imagine it's only going to get more where you have like five different ways of social media to contact people, three different instant messaging platforms, Slack, maybe your phone, maybe, you know, another internal tool. You have emails, you have all these other system notifications and stuff. The amount of information incoming is huge and it's all vying for your attention and focus. And so how do you manage that? Right? So instead of letting the incoming things take priority, we need to be very clear on what our priorities are each day, right? And we need to really focus on this one habit that really makes the difference for folks, and that is your power hour. And so you're like, hey, Sean, what is that? And let me explain then. So your power hour is the first hour that you have where you're working, right? So this is after you do all your morning hygiene, your morning routine, maybe you exercise, maybe you do journaling and all that kind of stuff, right? So you do all that. You go into the office, whenever you go into the office, or whenever you start work, if you work from home. And that first hour should be dedicated to what is the most important thing for me to accomplish today, how's the week going? And then working on your number one priority, right? So they have that one hour block to do some planning and to make sure that you check off your most important, number one thing that'll move your life forward. Your life's work forward, your legacy forward, your health and relationships forward, you know, whatever is most important, most pressing for that day. And you do this because for the rest of the day, if you got interrupted a bajillion times, it's not going to feel as stressful because you've moved the football forward just a little bit, right, each day, and that's all we can really ask for. But what ends up happening is you get some momentum and you make some huge strides, and then it takes you a lot less time to finish your project, and then you're available to help people. So, you know, a lot of people are like, but, Sean, like, it's my job to assist people, or I'm going to be held back in my job if I assist people. And I totally understand that. And if you are a weapon at what you do, if you are consistently delivering results before or, you know, early or on time, you'll have more time to help people. And if not, then you have to have that conversation with your boss being like, hey, like, I'm overloaded. Like, you want me to help on all these other things, but I could. I barely have enough time to do what I got to do as is, so let's have that conversation. But you know that it all comes down to planning that power hour. Like, how are you rejuvenating during that hour? How are you planning what is. How are you getting clear about your day? Because. And if I, as your coach, were to jump into your day and look at your first hour of what your work, is it filled with responding to emails? That's a lot of times what happens in my experience. Is it, you know, just kind of goofing off all, you know, on the Internet or whatever? Is it, you know, really just kind of reacting to what's going on in the office or going on on your team around you? So we want to get you out of that habit. We want to get you out of social media and communicating, and we want you to just focus on the task at hand, and you'll see a ton of results from that. Right? It's a really simple habit, and it's a really amazing habit. I know that my clients love it. I've used it to great effect when I was in corporate doing software. So the power hour is the first hour that you must have. And so if you like this habit and are like, what other kind of habits can help me hone my focus, help me reduce the impact of distractions, I want to let you guys know real quick that I have a PDF called Focus like an introvert, right? Because I'm an introvert and all my introverted friends just love to like sit quiet and read books and play music or work. You know, they want that quiet, chill vibe while they do it. And when you can accomplish that, you know, when you get in that flow state, that's when you're extra productive. So if you want to be productive like an introvert, you know, someone that can really focus, I have my five best strategies to help you with that. That's linked below in the blog around the YouTube channel again. So with that said, guys, I hope you enjoyed this video. I loved doing this for you. I love this power. Tell me when you're scheduling your power hour in the comments below on YouTube and I will encourage you send out just a quick, hey, great job, keep going type thing. But I want to acknowledge you for doing that commitment, you know, because it's the people that commit to protecting, enhancing and cultivating their focus that ultimately do great things over time in my experience. So I hope that's you. I want to cheer you on. I want to hear about all the awesome things you guys are doing. So put those in the comments. And other than that, guys, go out there, live with more joy, more personal growth and more impact in your communities. And this is Sean Butner saying. We'll see you next week on Start your week with the coach, Sam.