Enter the focus box. Every day I write my top 3 tasks for the day in a big red square on my whiteboard so I can stay focused on the initiatives that will have the greatest impact on my business. Just to make sure I devote my time to the tasks at hand, I shut everything else down. That’s right. You heard me correctly. No Twitter, Facebook, Outlook, Blackberry, Firefox. I even shut my door.

This might seem like an impossible modus operandi but you’ll be surprised how much of an impact it will have on your overall productivity.  Of course, there will inevitably be emergencies and interruptions in the course of the day, even when you are holed up in your “productivity bunker”.  The key is to make sure you get back on track and that you don’t move on to other projects until all three boxes are checked.

Try it for a week and let me know your results.