Distractions. Does anyone have those?
In a world of endless pings, alerts and “quick questions,” your most prized resource is your attention. Protect it like it matters, because it does.
What if we didn’t fight distraction? What if we just made it irrelevant?
Accept, Reflect, Redirect
You won’t eliminate distractions. The phone will buzz. A colleague will stop by. A negative thought will show up uninvited. The goal isn’t to win every one of those battles. It’s to get back to what matters, fast.
- Accept. Notice the distraction without fighting it or beating yourself up.
- Reflect. Ask, “Is this more important than what I was doing?” Usually it isn’t.
- Redirect. Return to your one priority for this block of time.
It’s not the distraction’s fault. It’s your focus.
Know What You’re Focusing On
Redirecting only works if you know where to go. For recruiters and agents, that’s TCF+, the daily discipline:
- Touches
- Conversations
- Face-to-face or Zoom-to-Zoom appointments
- Plus: referrals, database adds and hires
When your day has a clear target, distractions lose their pull. And remember, the “R” in CRM is relationship. Every touch and conversation builds one.
Watch Out for ANTs
Some distractions come from inside. Dr. Daniel Amen calls them ANTs: automatic negative thoughts. “They’re not going to call back.” “I’m not good at this.” “The market’s too slow.”
Recruiting and attracting agents is a long game. It takes repeated proactive work with infrequent positive feedback, and that’s fertile soil for doubt. When an ANT shows up, use the same three steps: accept that it’s there, ask whether it’s actually true, and redirect to your next touch or conversation.
Make It Irrelevant
Block your TCF+ time first thing. Silence notifications for that block. Keep a short list of your next five touches so there’s no decision to make when you sit down. Distractions don’t disappear. They just stop winning.
Framework: This post is part of Action Produces Data, the coaching framework for consistent production: take the next right action, track it and let the results, not opinions, guide what you do next.
Want help applying this in your brokerage? Book a 30-minute conversation with Mark at calendly.com/mjsession.
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