The cliché time is money, is the guidepost for most selling
professionals. Time is the one item you do not get to
reinvent or get back. Once it's gone it's gone. The reward
for managing your time is the enrichment of not only your
professional life, but also your personal life. And, good
time management also gets you closer to your goals. You
must focus on your highest priorities and consistently
place them first. The added benefit of a well-organized
work schedule is the creation of time for family, friends
and the leisure activities that rejuvenate and refresh you.
With only 24 hours in a day, how can all the calls, the
reports and the tasks get completed? Simply put, planning.
Planning is the most vital aspect of every professional
career. Business professionals particularly should plan the
order of their appointments so as not to retrace steps;
they should plan when to respond to e-mail. If possible,
they should plan where and when to visit clients so not to
spend too much time in the car.
Typically, most of us respond to what we believe are urgent
matters and forget to pre- plan and be proactive. They
become Emergency Medical Technicians for all incoming work.
The red light goes on and salespeople immediately scurry to
get that item completed immediately.
Proactive planning makes the day less daunting and helps
you get more accomplished in less time. If you respond to
all that comes to them; you will never accomplish any of
their important items. Here are successful tips:
1. Grouping appointments either in the morning or in the
afternoon. Sporadically making appointments during the day
leaves little room for other things.
2. Replying to telephone calls and emails four to five
times per day rather than right away. Stop being reactive
and create proactive activities to make the day less
intimidating.
3. Prioritizing your tasks using letters, numbers and
color-coding. Creating visuals and lists immediately
connects you with what must be done first. We will address
this late in this booklet.
My program Pump Up Your Productivity™ contains a 12- step
formula for assistance with prioritization and planning.
Created here is the list of the top five.
1. Use a planner - Electronics and technology creates a
vast array of tools and gadgets to enable efficiency in our
day. The issue is that many people do not use them or
cannot utilize them during certain times, i.e. driving an
automobile or while shopping. With over 25 years in
business and several electronic tools at my disposal
(Outlook and an iPhone), I still use a paper planner. It is
always at my disposal and never needs to be rebooted
because it crashed.
2. Work backward - Begin your days with what needs to be
accomplished on completion of the day. Begin the day with
the end in mind. Visualize what you need to do before the
sun runs out.
3. Minimize distractions - Forestall the interruptions.
Refrain from enabling others to distract your day. Stick to
your plan and get more done. Create a healthy selfishness
and learn to use the word NO!
4. Create routines - Regularity creates habit. Structure
the day around specific events or even specific clients and
neighbors. It is not customary to build a day reflecting a
maze.
5. Do not dwell on unpleasant situations - We all castigate
ourselves. When things go awry we create self doubt and
intensify the experience. This throws us off from our tasks
and responsibilities. Learn to compartmentalize and move
forward.
There are numerous things you can do to simply your life
and your practice. A best practice is prioritization. Many
professionals operate haphazardly, rushing from one issue
to another without a plan. Prioritizing your daily events
enables you to maximize your time, minimize the issues and
end the day happily.
I propose one of two options for you dependent on your
personal taste. The first emulates time-honored pundits.
Prioritization is about placing first things first. And the
first step is to obtain a planner or use some electronic
device that enables you to record important To Do items and
appointments. Recent surveys illustrate that over 45% of
individuals miss appointments or fail to accomplish
imperative issues because they fail to record them.
Once your begin to record your day, one of the most
essential elements is to record your lists of To Do's.
There are two steps to this process. In a margin or on the
events portion of the planner list your items using an
alphabetic code. Simply write down or keypunch all the
things you need to do within the next week. Then begin to
code the items using an alphabetical symbol. To exemplify
use an "A" for items that need to be complete in the next
12 to 24 hours; use a "B" for items that need to be
complete in the next 24 to 48 hours and finally use a "C"
for items that need to be complete in the next 48 to 72
hours or personal items.
Now review your list again and be realistic. Not everything
in the list needs to be complete within 24 hours.
Theoretically, you should have no more than three to four
items in each of the respective alpha categories. Here are
some additional points to ponder for prioritization:
1. Get up early. The cliché of early to bed early to rise
is true you get more done when lethargy is not prevalent in
your life.
2. Direct others to maintain your order. You are the master
of your fate and the more you delegate and control
situations the easier the day becomes.
3. Invest in things that assist you. Purchase planners,
cell phones, directories, computer equipment, etc. Being
frugal saves money but does not win you time.
4. Be selfish. Learn to say "No". Be respectful and learn
to say no when possible. Affirming all that comes into your
day only throws you out of focus.
5. Laugh and learn. Life is too short. We are not on this
earth but for a short time; do not sweat the small stuff.
6. Reward yourself. When something goes well, go for a
walk, buy the dress, go out for a nice dinner but do not
wait because no one will take care of us but us.
Creating change alters the comfort zone. However, when you
begin to make changes you begin to see the timesavings you
desire. You also eliminate stress. In the words of Mahatma
Gandhi, "Be the change you want to see."."
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Drew Stevens PhD is known as the Sales Strategist. Drew
assists organizations to dramatically accelerate business
growth. He is the author of seven books including Split
Second Selling and Split Second Customer Service and Little
Book of Hope and is frequently called on the media for his
expertise. Get a FREE download Drew's White Paper on
Selling Effectiveness or Business Building e-book at
http://www.gettingtothefinishline.com
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