ditch your email to grow your business

When we get into the office in a morning many of us have the same old routine, get our lunch in the fridge and grab a brew before logging on and checking our emails. So rather than getting into the office and hitting the ground running, we are all checking our emails, waiting to be dictated to by the requests that have manifested in the form of little electronic time thieves.

​I invite you to challenge the norm, and fight this heavily ingrained routine. The problem with opening your emails first is that you're allowing others to set your agenda, establish your priorities and determine what you spend your energy on first thing in the morning. By being drawn into this way of operating you may be really busy all day, and even please some customers with your service and productivity. The problem is, you haven't prioritised your business and worse still, you've done nothing to actually drive it forward.

​I challenge you to live by a different law, come in and don't check your email for the first hour of the day. Instead use this time to tackle the things that are your real priorities and to drive your business forwards. Trust me, anything that comes into your inbox can wait an hour. Live your work life by the following motto 'today isn't over, until tomorrow is planned' and you won't go far wrong.

What on earth does that mean I hear you asking. Well, I'm saying for you to set your priorities for the next morning before you leave work, while it's fresh in your memory and you can be objective about the importance of your tasks. By doing this you save time in the morning, rather than trying to reacquaint yourself with the tasks you have outstanding, enable yourself to hit the ground running by preparing adequately. You'll avoid having your priorities dictated to you, meaning you can focus on what really matters, and drive your business to the next level.​

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