MANAGE YOURSELF EFFICIENTLY AND TIME WILL FOLLOW

Do you have a written daily schedule? When was the last time you reviewed it? Does it change each day; each week? Are you doing the most important or the most urgent? Can you tell the two apart? How do you handle interruptions and phone calls? Who is the top customer who should take precedence?

The day begins the night before and the week begins on Friday. Before you can plan tomorrow you need to assess the day just passed. Review that day and list tasks that weren’t accomplished noting the reasons. Over time you may reveal a pattern of time -wasters or time-stealers. Such analyses will show you the calls to screen, the times of day
to shut your door and focus on a project, make cold calls and produce hard results.

Each week review the reasons for your tasks: How will each prospective task move me toward my stated goals? If I attend another networking event will I enhance my visibility in the community or actually close business? How many hours per month can I allot to each? Always ask yourself if your goals are realistic. Am I taking on more orders or customers commitments than I can produce? Estimate return on time spent. Remember the 80-20 rule: 80% of the business comes from 20% of the work. Much frustration occurs because professionals overestimate what can be accomplished in a time period or they overestimate the return. . The solution then is delegating, accurately approximating deadlines, and at times saying “No”.

After this assessment prioritize the next day’s goals by #1 most important- highest value task, then #2 the next important and/or immediate, then #3 the task that can be done later in the week. Sometimes the latter can actually be done the next week or by another team member. Leave time for meetings, phone calls (planning specific times to return calls and e-mails is more efficient for some), and the hot unexpected lead. Sometimes using time efficiently means more income from less harried work. Let time management skills guide your workday.

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