In order to achieve the success that you want to reach it is vital to follow a strict time management schedule. This will allow you to manage your time as effectively and efficiently as possible.
The first step is to follow a written plan such as a daily or weekly plan matching it with your monthly or quarterly plan as this sets realistic goals for each day. Review the plan the night before as you will be fully prepared for what lies ahead.
What is found generally is that, following the Pareto's rule 80% of unfocused effort generates 20% of results while the remaining 80% results are achieved with only 20% of effort. Therefore many people spend their days in a frenzy of activity but achieve very little because they are not focused on the right things. Talk to a colleague, business partner or your sales manager about what you should be focused on.
At the heart of successful time management it is an important shift in focus - concentrate on results, not on being busy as this will ensure you are getting rewarded for the time you spend on daily activities (Not been a busy fool).
The purpose of time management is to adjust the balance of time spent during the day in favour of high yield activities, especially true today as time is money and we need all of our energies focused on yielding a return on investment (ROI), in this case time and money is what we are investing - determine what you are getting in return?
Shift your focus
To shift the balance, first of all you need to analyse how you really spend your time during an average day. In order to ensure that most of our working day is spent on focused effort, think about your focus.
Question
What are the three most important activities that generate the greatest returns for you in your business and or sales role? And how much time do you spend in these activities in total per day?
Using your time wisely
Research has also shown that individual energy levels vary enormously throughout the day, depending on the blood sugar levels, lighting, temperature etc. each person has a set pattern that can be predicted and so by analysing your day more closely you can plan to be doing appropriate tasks at a time which best suits your energy levels. For example high return activities when your energy levels are at their peak and research when your energy levels are at their lowest.
You should ideally have a whole month planned in advance, with your goals set out clearly and it also helps to break the month down into weeks so that you can work towards your weekly targets very clearly.
Tips
Plan your day tomorrow - today this way you know exactly how your day should pan out and what to start on immediately as soon as you get into the office.
Time is money so spend it wisely ensuring you are getting the best return every time.
Proper Planning and Preparation equals success
P+P+P = a great return every time