12/4/2024-Time mgmt: slow down December

Regular and consistent focus on priorities and decision-making removes the sting of disappointment you might feel when appraising your time management skills.

Oh, C’MON… who cares about time management this month? This is the ultimate party month.

WHOA…hold on…the TOP 10% don’t think that way. (Party poopers!)

They’re the nerds who always prioritize and frantically manage their calendars, even in December. Of course, they want to party but know their break is coming soon. They’re driven by something more important: a fast start to ’25.

Most TM exercises involve looking backward to understand how you could have spent your time better, but smart TM is also about looking forward. The more you focus on Q1 in December, the better you’ll be on January 2.

At its root, time management is just a math issue.

Not including weekends and holidays (and days off to go skiing), you’ll have 65 selling days in calendar Q1. But, many of those 65 days won’t affect Q1…they’ll primarily affect Qs 2, 3, and 4.

So…here’s today’s math problem: given your sales cycle and this being December 4th, how many selling days are left to affect your Q1 revenue?

Whatever the answer, build your TM strategy around getting meetings because there is a high correlation between your number of customer pitch meetings and proposal generation.

Most of the time sellers hear the term Time Management, they cringe. And that’s understandable.

Who likes analyzing how you spend your time? That activity forces judgment, and nobody wants their organization and decision-making competencies questioned, even if you’re the one doing the questioning!

Examine the selling behaviors of the TOP 10%, and you’ll learn that because they are constantly organizing themselves, they don’t feel oppressed by the scrutiny.

In other words, regular and consistent focus on priorities and decision-making removes the sting of disappointment you might feel when appraising your time management skills.

You are closer to achieving more efficient time management than you think… increase the frequency of self-appraisal, and you’ll be more conscious of your time and decisions.

"Procrastination is a habit," says Mel Robbins, a savvy expert on change and motivation.

But if you’re procrastinating on today’s "DO," perhaps this 3-minute video will help you.

Mel argues that if you accept that procrastinating is a habit, you can fix it with behavioral modifications. This is excellent news and requires only a few moments of planning and plotting!