Be Unavailable

In business, we are taught to take care of the customer and that the customer is always right. Somehow, we equate that with the notion that we always must be available and on-call. But that is not true. In fact, Women in Business are learning that being overly available can hurt our business success.

Here are some tips to help you gain strength and accomplish more but allowing yourself to be un-available.

DO NOT Disturb Time

Let’s face it, people disrupt our workflow. It is not always intentional, but it happens. It can be a client, team member or even the family. But all these interruptions break our focus and add time to our already demanding days. I encourage you to have a block of time for NO distractions – None, Zero, Nada! Ok I know you are freaking out and saying it is not possible…. hear me out. You CAN do this. You need 40–50-minute time slots where you can focus, un-interrupted and get your best work done. The truth is many of you are already doing this without even know it. Think about this…. If you are with a client, you generally are there with that client and focused on them. You are not answering the phone, checking your email or social media. You are on Do Not Disturb for that period of time.

You CAN do this; you just need to shift your thinking and make these blocks of time an “appointment” and we women show up for our appointments.

Protect Your Schedule

People want to work with other successful people. If we are always available, they will not value our time as much, and they also may not see us as an expert in our field. If we have all the time in the world to be available, we must not have that much going on. (and let’s just be honest – none of us women have free

Have you ever heard of the doctor who was booking several months out? The restaurant that was so hard to get a reservation at? We see these as desirable and successful situations, ones we want to be a part of. Allowing yourself to control your time and say NO when items do not fit for you, gives the perspective both that you are a success and that your time is valuable.

Set Expectations

People will treat us how we allow them to. In fact, we teach people how to treat us and our time by our actions. This is a lesson I learned the hard way. Early in my career I had an open schedule and when someone asked me if I could so some thing for them the answer was always – of course. And then I would stress and overwork myself to get it all done.

My clients would call me at all hours and expect me to ‘jump” when they needed something. It was not because they were being mean or overly demanding, it was because I taught them that this behavior was acceptable. When I finally put my big-girl pants on (mostly because I was completely burned out and on the verge of a breakdown), I started setting expectations with my clients and team. I would set the standard that I would return all calls and requests within 3 hours and then if they reached out to me after 6:30 pm, unless it was an emergency (which I also needed to define) I would return their call the next day.

What happened when I did this? They followed my lead. I didn’t lose clients, or at least not the right clients, and my level of service to my clients increased. They were fine with my guidelines, they just needed to be made aware of what they were.

Get clear on what works for you – you are the boss-babe of your time. Set the standard and they will follow.

The truth is we women hurt ourselves when we are too available. We become burned out and lose focus, and small tasks start to fall through the cracks. Serving our clients does not mean we have to always be available. In truth, we can deliver better service and show up as the best version of ourselves when we implement boundaries. As strong women in business, need to do a better job of protecting our time; when WE value our time, others will, too.

Clara Capano “Strategist for the SMART Woman” is an Best Selling Author and Award Winning Educator. Executive Producer/Creator – the Working Women’s Channel https://www.youtube.com/ channel/UC7HkFgvq4S9bdB3LygEo0Sw Clara has been featured on: NBC, ABC, CBC and FOX. She is contributor with Forbes.com and the Forbes Coaching Council. Watch Clara on Season 3 of AmazonPrime’s Speak Up. Visit Clara’s website at www.claracapano.com