Monday the 13th
The 13th is a volatile number. Considered unlucky since “Triskaidekaphobia” was inducted into our culture, perhaps in 1780 BC, it survives today in a number of iterations. When I lived in Manhattan 25 years ago, many buildings didn’t have “13” on the elevator list. Imagine my surprise when I counted the floors from the outside and the 25 story building only had 24 floors! (Yipes, that same math is again at work on Wall Street!)
Today, however, I’m simply facing 13 critical items on a 25 item Things To Do list and I only have time to do 10 of them because of this darned computer. No, it isn’t having problems (unless you consider “Operator Malfunction” a computer problem) but the operator has become mired in the Social Network.
It is 9:12am and I booted up at 7:32 this morning. In the intervening hour and a half I have checked my email three times, my Twitter account once, my Facebook twice and now I’m relating my inability to do honest work on my blog. Jeeze…
In my defense, I only took 1 minute 40 seconds to Google the unlucky 13 and find cites that fueled this missive. However, if I don’t take control of the process, that minute forty will escalate into a major waste of a day’s work for a day’s pay.
Since I started working from home on my computer and cell phone, my productivity has dropped by an estimated 15%. In real terms, that means that I have had contact with 30 fewer prospects each week while saving $22,000 in expenses.
Is it worth it? Saving money, I mean?
Not sure yet. If I accomplish most of my tasks and save the 30 grand I expect to this year then I suppose it is. It just feels wrong. Sort of like Judas must have felt when he was the 13th disciple to be seated at the table of the Last Supper.
Take a look at how you use your Social Networking tools. Do a “time waster” inventory on your day. If you are at all like me, you will find that you can get an extra hour of productive selling time on the 14th by exercising some discipline.
Happy Selling!