It happens to us all. We have every intention of accomplishing tasks that are vital to our success. We dislike doing some of them, adding to the problem.
The day ends, time flew by and important tasks remain undone. Now, if that task is sales related (as it often is), the problem becomes worse as days and even weeks slip by.
How do you get ALL the important things done?
In my book, 90 Minute Time Manager, I suggest taking 15 to 30-minutes to:
List all the tasks you need to accomplish.
Prioritize them as; vital, important but not time sensitive, delegate.
I would add “eliminate” to any tasks that are scheduled during your work day that do not move your business forward.
Now schedule your day.
Start with yourself. When will you eat lunch? What kind of personal time do you need during the day? Add that to your schedule first.
Now add your vital tasks. Exactly when will you accomplish each of these vital tasks? Put the exact time on your calendar and stick to it. Get the task done at the exact time you scheduled and do not waiver.
Add the important but not time sensitive items once you have the exact time set for your vital tasks.
These are generally large tasks that are broken down into manageable chunks. The adage; “How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time,” applies here.
Get one thing done consistently to move your big projects forward.
Here’s where your troubles may come in.
Frequent interruptions get you off track. A client needs something right away, for example.
If that occurs, go to your calendar, take a look at your vital tasks, see which one you can bump into tomorrow and move it out of today and add the vital client task that came up.
If you are constantly interrupted, schedule those projected interruptions into your day.
Realize that you simply won’t be able to get everything done you need to because you will be interrupted frequently.
The rewards for following this idea are; less stress, vital things get done, you learn your work capacity and can then schedule more effectively every day.
You gain control of your time, instead of your time having its death grip on you and your life. Try it. You only have your stress to lose.
Bonus Time Tip: There is never anything more important than making sales.
