How to keep focused when life throws you curveballs

As entrepreneurs we always like to think we have things covered, that we can keep all the proverbial balls in the air whilst trying to juggle all aspects of our life. And, for the most part that’s true - and then life suddenly throws you a curveball. I was reminded of this when watching the truly awful coverage of Hurricane Irma in the US on my laptop when suddenly the power went down and the internet connection went down in my own city (I was in Johannesburg at the time), one of an increasing number of such failures during peak work times. However, despite such challenges, business has to keep going so it’s essential to keep focused and stay productive. So if you find yourself in similar challenging circumstances, here are a few tips to stay on top. Firstly, use the 80/20 principle, focus on those activities that will deliver 80% of the results from 20% of the effort. Secondly, take anything that is not a priority off your to-do list, it just causes unnecessary stress having one huge, ever growing list staring at you. Thirdly, delegate to others and share the workload. Finally, keep calm, focus on what’s important and remember that tomorrow is another day.