Tip of the week: Reduce phone distractions during working hours

Your phone is both your most useful business tool and your biggest distraction. Social media, games and endless group chats can swallow hours that you never notice.

Take control with simple steps:

• Switch off notifications for non-essential apps
• Mute noisy group chats and check them at set times
• Keep your phone face down when serving a customer or doing focused work
• Remove apps you only use to pass time, or move them to a hidden folder

Give your customers your full attention. Looking at the phone while serving can feel disrespectful.

Keep important channels open: calls, customer messages and mobile money alerts.

A duka owner in Kariakoo may decide to check social media only at lunch break and closing, and notice more sales and less tiredness.

Check your phone's screen-time report to see where time goes. The numbers can be surprising, and motivating.

This week: check your screen-time report and turn off notifications for three apps you do not need during work.