All of us at The Grow Group are just back from an exciting few days of presenting, learning, and having fun at GIE. We got to debut our new name and logo and our new website with the crowd there, and we’re genuinely touched by the enthusiastic response we’ve received. If there’s a more supportive industry than the landscape profession, we sure don’t know it.

One of the talks I delivered was called Home by 5, and we had a packed house for it. Why? Because we’re all struggling to juggle the demands of work and time away. We all feel as if there’s not enough time in the day to get done what we need to, and we all want to be home by 5 with our family and friends.

So where do you start? One good first step is to stop letting your cell phone control your day. That little, seemingly harmless device in your pocket that’s roughly the size of an index card is actually a powerful WMD: a Weapon of Mass Distraction, able to destroy time and productivity with every ring and ding.

There are of course many ways our cell phones have improved how we do business, but that doesn’t mean you have to keep them on 24/7 or to respond immediately to every ask or task that comes your way. Block off time in your schedule to turn your phone off and focus on your priorities, not someone else’s. Turn your social-media notifications off during the work day. At Grunder Landscaping, we’ll be placing our phones in a box outside our conference room before every meeting starting January 1. What is the point in meeting if we’re checking our phones the whole time?

These are small steps, but they can pay big dividends by keeping you focused and improving productivity.

Have a great week!

P.S. At The Grow Group, we’re working hard to put together an amazing program for our GROW! 2019 Annual Conference in Denver, February 20–22. Register by Wednesday, October 31, and lock in your early-bird savings.