12/8/2023-Time Management: December & Q1

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

Who cares about Time Management this month? After all, this is a party month.

Well…the TOP 10% care. They prioritize TM in December because – amidst the tinsel and partying – they know they’re deep into Q1 selling.

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

At its root, time management is a math issue. You’ll get 65 selling days in calendar Q1 – NOT including weekends and holidays (and any days off you will take to go skiing). However, most of those 65 days will affect revenue that lands in Qs 2, 3, and 4.

Thus, here’s today’s math assignment: Given your sales cycle, how many selling days are left to affect your Q1 revenue?

Your TM strategy must focus on meetings because there is a high correlation between your number of customer pitch meetings, proposal generation, gross pipeline, and revenue.

Today, calculate how many meetings you need on the books to affect Q1 rev.

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. (Note: not all TM issues are related to procrastination; distractions are a good addition to the list.)

But if you read today’s "DO" and are already procrastinating on that assignment, perhaps this 3-minute video will help you.

Mel argues that if you buy in that procrastinating is a habit, you can fix that habit with behavioral modifications. And that is very good news for folks like you seeking prescriptive help at better TM.