Principle 1: Eliminate white space

Without planning ahead, it’s impossible to tell the difference between traction and distraction. You can’t call something a distraction unless you know what it’s distracting you from. Your goal as a busy profession in sales or marketing is to eliminate all white space in your calendar, so you’re left with a template for how you intend to spend your time each day.

Tips:

Ask these questions

• Reflect - When in my schedule did I do what I said I would do and when did I get distracted?
• Refine - Are there changes I can make to my calendar that will give me the time I need to better express my values?

Principle 2: Time box to help clarify team goals

Using a detailed, timeboxed schedule helps clarify the central trust pact between employers and employers. Through regular review, two parties can make informal decisions regarding whether the employee’s time is spent appropriately and help them allocate time to more important tasks, both in and outside the workspace.

Tips:

• Syncing your calendar with stakeholders at work is critical for making time for traction in your day. Without visibility managers are more likely to distract you with superfluous tasks.
• Sync as frequently as schedule changes. Have a daily or weekly check-in.

Principle 3: Prevent distraction with price pacts

‘People are typically motivated to avoid losses than to seek gains’; losing hurts more than winning feels good. This irrational tendency, known as ‘loss aversion’, is a cornerstone of behavioural economics. A price pact is effective because it moves the pain of losing to the present moment as opposed to a distant future.

Tips:

• Price pacts are most effective when you can remove the external triggers that lead to distraction.
• A price pact adds a cost to getting distracted. It has been shown to be a highly effective motivator.

Principle 4: Control the Inputs, Not the Outcomes

When it comes to our time, we should stop worrying about outcomes we can’t control and instead focus on the inputs we can. The one thing we control is the time we put into a task.

Tips:

• Schedule time for yourself first. By not allocating time for yourself, the other areas of your life suffer
• Show up when you say you will. You can’t control what you get out of a task, only the time you put into it.
• Input is much more certain than outcome. The only thing you should focus on is allocating time to living your values. ‍

Principle 5: Create an Indistractable workplace

When you think of an indistractable workplace you might not think of Slack, the instant messaging service. But, Slack’s corporate culture is an example of a work environment that hasn’t succumbed to the maddening cycle of responsiveness endemic to so many organisations today.

Tips:

• Organisations like Slack, foster psychological safety, provide a place for open discussions about concerns, and most importantly, have leaders who exemplify the importance of doing work.