How do you start your day?

Before you rush into a blur of activities that will last throughout the day, ask yourself:   

What is the highest value-added action I can do today?
What can I, and only I, do today, that I've done well before, to make a difference?
Why am I on the payroll?
What actions will earn the most for me and my company?

Focus on getting those highly valued actions done first, helping you get the higher priority items completed first.

Identify High Value Activities; The Pareto Principle

Vilfredo Pareto, a 19th-century engineer, argued that 20% of what you do generates 80% of the value. When assessing all your activities, ask yourself: Which 20% are creating 80% of the value?  Then focus on doing more of those activities.

Value Destroyers; Drive Them Out

Focusing on value creating activities isn’t enough.  There needs to be equal intensity on identifying and eliminating your personal value destroyers.  Everyone has them – usually lots of them.  They take away from your productivity, from your value creation. 

What are time wasting activities that I can drive out of my daily schedule?

Who are time wasting people that that I should avoid, or if engaged, quickly move beyond?

Assessing Rewards vs. Consequences

Every action has consequences - good and bad. Consider what rewards you'd reap by completing a task. Then, compare those rewards with the consequences of putting it aside.  If you are like most people, you will find you do lots of things that really don’t provide a lot of payback.  Know which of your actions have the highest value, and focus on those  actions.


Balancing Urgency vs. Importance

An unexpected phone call or a drop-in visitor may be urgent, but the consequences of dealing with either may not be that important in the long run.  Before you jump into an adrenalin rush, ask yourself: What is the reward if I do this?  Or, if I don’t do this now, what are the consequences?  Customers offer different degrees of payback. Think about your payback before urgently jumping in.

A Written Time Management Plan; Bringing Clarity

Lists of goals, tasks and objectives are of no help unless they're written down. Putting your plans in writing makes a seemingly elusive goal or action more concrete. There's a real connection that takes place between the brain and the hand.  When you don't write it down, it's fuzzy, but as you write it - it becomes clear. 


Visualization; See Your Success

See yourself doing what you need to get done. Visualization trains the subconscious to focus on completing tasks.  Say, for example, that you want to begin each morning by identifying the 3 most important actions/goals.  Visualize how you will execute those successfully.  This helps prioritize your day and sets you up to focus on the key actions that will enable you to successfully achieve your goals.  


Bringing it All Together

The answers to these questions help identify all the important things that need to be done and in what order to help bolster personal productivity.  Remember that you are a winner and that your preparation to maximize your time goes a long way in helping you focus on those key actions that will help you to achieve your goals.

Effective Sales Time Management is where your Priorities and Initiatives Meet Your Calendar!