Gem #6: Is Your A.D.D. getting in the way of, hey look a red Volkswagen, your success?

The attempt at humor in the title of this Gem is not meant to make light of a very serious problem. In fact, this isn’t going to be an article about Attention Deficit Disorder. Instead, what I want you to consider is whether or not you suffer from "Businessperson’s Attention Deficit Disorder" or B.A.D.D.? Take a step back and think about it for a minute. Our days are consumed by conference calls, meetings, presentations and in between all of that we are trying to be proactive and strategic. So when we have some time to sit at our desk and focus on "green light activities" (those activities that equate to business results), are we focused on the effort or constantly distracted by emails, instant messages and text messages as they chime in? If the answer is yes, you may suffer from B.A.D.D. Don’t feel bad. Researchers tell us that business people today deal with magnitudes more interruptions and adversities then the previous generation of business people.

Consider some of these ideas for taming the symptoms of Businessperson’s Attention Deficit Disorder before it gets worse:

• It may sound too simple, but close your Outlook (or whatever email system you use). Unless your green light activity involves sending emails (which I hope it doesn’t) the easiest solution might be "out of sight, out of mind."
• Turn off your cell phone/Blackberry/iPhone. Or if you can’t turn it off, at least shut off the email function while you are trying to focus on important tasks.
• Find a place to work that minimizes distractions--booking a conference room just for yourself, a quiet coffee shop, working from home, wherever you need to go to focus. Once you make this a habit, you will quickly go into "green light" mode as soon as you get there.

Don’t forget the important role goal setting plays in making this a reality. Start by setting some weekly goals for yourself and continue to step up those goals as you make progress.

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