What if you could find a better way to control your time during the day? I am here to share that it is possible to gain more control of what you accomplish, and it centers around these three simple words: Rule The Day!
A trip to Smoothie King has to do with me and my day. Every Friday morning, I treat myself to a 20-ounce Lean 1 Vanilla smoothie as a reward for the week. I pull up to the window each Friday to pay and hear these three words: Rule The Day! As I drive away, I smile and think that even a stranger encourages me to take control of my day and life.
So what does Rule The Day mean?
It is to set a standard that guides your behavior.
What do I need to do today to take control of my day?
So let me ask you a question.
What standard do you set for yourself each day? Yes, we all have to-do lists of tasks that need completing each day, and If you like me, that list keeps growing with other people’s asks and your list of tasks. So for many of us, our days are ruled by others.
Today, salespeople do so much more than just close sales. Success in today’s sales environment is about having a transparent strategy, building trust with our clients, and solving problems. If you do it well, you realize it is a process and takes time.
Effectively managing your time based on your schedule and workload takes commitment. The rewards of knowing time management are well worth the planning and dedication.
As professionals, we have a range of responsibilities. Managing our time to tackle these tasks is an important skill and is extremely necessary to optimize our performance. So how can we make the most of our days and manage the day?
I want to share the 5 W’s so you, too, can Rule The Day!
The 5 W’s to Rule the Day!
WHAT
To Rule the Day, you must prioritize your activities that need to get accomplished that day. We must see a path of daily actions leading to our overall goal. If possible, do these activities first. You will feel in control and inspired to know you moved your business forward. What is the number priority you need to complete?
WHEN
We prioritized what needed to get done. Now we determine when it will get done. Choosing when you do will set you up for success. For example, if creating new clients or growing your current business is what you need to do, then it must be your number one priority of the day. You scheduled that time on your calendar to focus and eliminate all distractions until you complete the goal. If this is your priority, do not answer emails or surf your social channels until you accomplish the day’s importance.
HOW
Scheduling a certain amount of time for each priority is critical. How you divide your available time each day plays a significant role. I recommend looking at your day and blocking the time you believe you need to complete your priority tasks. Make sure you correlate your time division of the day according to the task’s priority. We must be intentional so that other lower-priority tasks don’t stop us from achieving our top priorities.
Avoid task switching because our brain is not programmed to handle numerous tasks simultaneously. Juggling multiple projects and switching between tasks require your brain to stop and refocus.
It can take up to 15 minutes for our brain to return to a productive state—time we likely don’t have.
WHO
Identify the people that can help you achieve your priorities. We have co-workers that steal valuable time from us. We must be careful not to spend too much time away from our priorities. I am all about collaborating with other team members, and we don’t want that to be when you focus on your priority tasks to move your business forward. When looking at your day, is someone on your team available to delegate non-priority tasks? Do you have sales support to create your proposals so you can stay focused on setting new meetings or client-facing?
WHY
The Why is everything! The Why is the inspiration for the day and why you do what you do each day, which I believe is to impact your life and clients’ business. Applying the 5 W’s is all about Time management and helps you understand what needs to be a priority today and what can wait until tomorrow.
WIN
You will win the day by focusing on What, When, How, Who, and the Whys!
So I encourage you to Rule Each Day, Apply the 5 W’s and Become Unstoppable!
Learn more about Simplifying Your sales meetings using 3-word topics at http://www.threewordmeetings.com.