Beware of Vampires

This past weekend was the start of Daylight Saving Time across North America.  As we did our annual spring forward and moved the clocks up and hour, there was a big “POOF”, and just like that we all lost one more hour out of our lives. 

I don’t know about you, but personally I had a lot of things I could have done with that extra hour – sleep being just one of them!

Most of us lose random hours here and there on a regular basis, never to be returned.  It’s as if a vampire is running around sucking the hours right out of your life.

These particular vampires are needy, thirsty creatures who will suck you dry every chance they get – leaving you weak and debilitated.  And they’re everywhere – at home, at work and across town.  Once they get a good meal out of you, they will come back time and time again!

Beware of Vampires!

We come across the path of vampires every day…

• Time Vampires who will interrupt your day and steel hours from you, leaving you dizzy and unfocused!
• Energy Vampires who will suck every ounce of positive energy out of you with their endless stream of negative comments!

Being able to recognize the vampires in your life is the first step in protecting yourself from their negative, time-sucking tendencies.

I know most people are only productive about 1/3 of the time; 2/3 of their productivity is lost to the vampires. 

Time vampires will interrupt your day.  They will force you to lose focus, costing you hours of productivity.  Studies show when you are interrupted from a task, it can take you 15 minutes or more to get back to where you where.

When you go to the office, there are time vampires hiding around every corner, just waiting to pull you into an hour of “chit chat”, talking about their endless problems.

My personal time vampires include email, stock quotes, CNN and cell phone interruptions.  I laugh, but since I got an iPhone there are more time vampires in my life than ever before!  

Every time an email comes in, it pings my iPhone and interrupts my day.   Turn off the auto email feature and dedicate time to read your emails two times a day! (Tip – Have important messages sent as a text message or to a different email account so you know when it is important)

Then there are the Energy Vampires, ready to suck all the productive, positive energy from you.  We all have them, friends and family who have not had a positive comment or thought since the second grade. 

You see them coming around the corner, ready to sink their teeth into your neck, sucking out all of your positive energy.  Avoid these vampires and don’t hang around them!  A positive attitude is critical if you want to attract the best clients for your business!

It’s time to vanquish the vampires

Instead of wearing garlic around your neck and carrying around a wooden stake, try these simple ways to find your vampires and kill them.  Keep a sheet of paper next to you.  Write down every time you are interrupted during the day.   Do this for a day or two.  You now have a list of time vampires you need to vanquish.  

On the same sheet, write down every negative discussion you have and who it involves.  These are the people you need to avoid.

Your productivity and attitude will expand as you get better at identifying and vanquishing your vampires. 

And remember, Vampire killers make more money in less time and have more fun doing it. 

Dedicated to your success.
Greg Pitstick & Bill Brown