The December 2010 issue of Entrepreneur Magazine had a great article about “the new attention deficit”. The author gave some great tips to help you break some annoying habits and to re-balance your day.

* Don’t stay on your email all day! (Yes, I am so guilty on this one!) Pick 2 or 3 windows of time to check your email and answer each one decisively, just one time. If you are checking emails all day long, you are distracted from effectively completing other tasks.

* When you are with someone, focus! Shut the laptop – let calls go to voice mail – and truly focus on the person on the other side of the table. Human contact is a good thing! The ability to connect with someone is a premium quality to have in today’s world.

* Don’t answer the phone! Okay, there are many times when you need to be available to answer your phone. But remember when we could actually go to the grocery store without having a cell phone glued to our ear? Remember when we could actually focus on our driving? There are certain times when it’s okay that you let your calls go to voice mail. We don’t have to be available 24/7.

By taking the author’s advice you will gain a new ability to focus and have renewed peace of mind. You might even get a reputation of someone who is there and who really cares!

Do you have a Power Hour each day? What exactly is a Power Hour?

As part of your business plan, a daily Power Hour can truly explode your business! During this one hour, shut your door and turn off your cell phone, your email and your computer. Make sure there are NO INTERRUPTIONS! Take your potty break and finish your coffee – it’s time to get down to business!

Take this one magic hour to call people. That’s right – pick up the phone and have real conversation with important people who can help to grow your business.

Call your past customers. Call your favorite clients who you haven’t heard from in a while. Ask how they are doing. How’s life treating them? Ask about their family. Make a date to meet them for coffee or ice cream later this week.

With texting, email and social media being so rampant in our society, it’s easy to lose the one-to-one, face-to-face relationship with people. Don’t let that slip away! Relationships are still vital to your business! Let people know you care about them!

If you do this for one hour, five days each week your business will explode!

A recent article in Realtor Magazine told the amazing story about a young couple who were negotiating with a seller to purchase a home. It seems their addiction to revealing themselves on social media got the best of them. Take a peek at this story.

Be Careful, Buyers!

“A couple who had made an offer on a home shared a detailed account of their deal on a social networking site. They severly compromised their negotiating position by writing about how badly they wanted the house, and even the actual amount they were willing to pay! What is it with the social networking phenomenon that makes people feel compelled to share every detail?”

If you are a Realtor, it seems today’s market demands you have a social media consultation as part of your seller and buyer prep talk. Cases like this are the reason why!

Buyers – please think twice before you reveal confidential information to a public internet site! What appears to be a private conversation with your friends is actually being published to the whole world!