How many times have you found yourself starting one project and ended up with 10 more unfinished ones? Truth be told, I sat down to write this article over a month ago and “Squirrel!”  That was the end of that.

Shiny Object Syndrome is defined as: the attraction to objects that exhibit a glassy, polished, gleaming or otherwise shiny appearance. Something as simple as a reflection in your peripheral vision may easily distract your attention.

Every second, on average, around 6,000 tweets are tweeted on Twitter, which corresponds to over 350,000 tweets sent per minute, 500 million tweets per day and around 200 billion tweets per year. Yikes!  Although they’re meant to help us work more efficiently, statistics show that there are 1.5 million apps are available to choose from.

So why you can’t you stay focused on closing the sale?  *And what DISC profile is the most susceptible to shiny object syndrome and how can they (and you!) manage it? See answer below.  In consulting with organizations, large and small, here is what I’ve seen the most:

1. 1. Setting too many and unattainable goals. Prioritize on what can be achieved in a realistic time frame, and minimize wasted resources. Save the multi-tasking for your next Netflix fix.
   2. Your ideal client is not everyone. You need a well-defined plan of targets. Create and execute your strategy with the right service to the right customer.
   3. Getting lost in the social media vortex. Trust me; you’ll never get those hours back. Decide which platform reaches your audience and stick with it.
   4. Subscribing to multiple marketing lists. There’s a tendency to sign up for every pop-up that comes your way: FREE tips! Downloads, PDF’s, etc. Create a separate account address to receive these emails.
   5. Slow to make decisions. The anxiety that sometimes occurs when forced to make a decision can often be debilitating. It’s seems easier to do nothing. WRONG. Trust your gut and decide. You’ll be glad you did.
   6. Responding to emails ASAP. You don’t need to stop everything and respond all the time. Set aside a time of day for just emails (and not first thing in the morning!)
   7. Lack of training (product/service/sales/technical) Flying blind without the right training can land you in a real ditch. A complete understanding of your product or service allows you to highlight the benefits to your customer.
   8. Paperwork! This can be a real time sucker. Create a system to help you organize and stay on top of reporting requirements. Pick one day a week for just administrative tasks.
   9. Management changes. Change happens. How you handle it makes the difference. You can accept, adapt and move on, or gnash your teeth and complain to anyone who will listen. Who’s going to close that sale?
   10. Whack a priority. Ever play that game? Management sends priority of the month, week or day, and changes it as soon as you’ve completed your call list! Did I mention that report is due tomorrow by the way….

*The ‘I’ or Inspiring Style has a real problem with Shiny Object Syndrome. Or did I mention that already…..:-)