Time Management
Time Management
How to recapture your usual efficiency and focus? Spend less time in the office. Not dramatically less, but an hour or two. Note that this isn't a long-term strategy to increase efficiency, but rather one designed to help you get over the hump of whatever has got you off your regular game.
Why does this work? This tactic will:
Remove the PLM mindset. PLM is short for "Poor Little Me." Over the years, I've known lots of people who essentially fritter away Friday lunchtime or afternoon because they know they need to work over the weekend and they're having a serious pity party. Don't believe me? Repeat the following using your best Eeyore voice: "I may as well take a 2-hour lunch, since I have to be here all day Saturday anyway." Sound familiar? I thought so. Instead of taking a long lunch or surfing away a couple of hours, decide to leave at a set time that's a little earlier than you might otherwise, and stick to it. No pity party needed, because you're leaving early today. That'll make you more effective throughout the day. Why? That leads to the second benefit.
Plug into getting-ready-for-vacation mentality. Have you ever noticed how much you can accomplish on Friday when you know you'll be away from the office for the next week? You have something to look forward to, and you have a set time when you'll catch your plane, meet family or friends, or whatever. Deciding to leave the office an hour or two earlier than usual can help you shift into this mindset. Suppose you normally leave at 7, but instead you decide to leave at 5. How will you shift your day so you can leave early? Will you bring lunch to your desk? Eliminate those little breaks that add up to wasted time? Ask your secretary to hold non-critical calls? And what will you do with your "found time"? Maybe go to a movie, slide into the restaurant that's too crowded by the time you can usually get there, or just go home, put on sweats, order in Chinese, and relax. That's worth a manufactured in-office crunch on occasion.
Keep you from sitting in the office when you're being inefficient so you can recover. If you're too tired or you have a hideous headache or whatever, perhaps trying to focus isn't what you need or what will help you get your energy back. Of course, if you're on a deadline, you can't afford this luxury. But, for those ordinary times, cutting one day short may allow you to return to the office and do what you need to do the next day.
I assume it's obvious why I advocate this technique only for rare occasions, but let me belabor the point. You don't want to be the person who never goes to lunch and never has time to chat. You don't want to be the person who's always leaving early. And you probably don't want to have to cram everything possible into every day - if you do want to do that, you probably don't have an efficiency problem anyway.
But on occasion, cutting your time in the office can lead to a much-needed burst of efficiency. Use it wisely.
Time Management - To learn more about this author, visit Julie Fleming-Brown's Website.
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We all go through periods when we just aren't that efficient at work. Maybe there's something personal going on that's distracting you, maybe it's been a beautiful summer week and you want to be out in the sun, maybe you have a cold and just don't feel good but also don't feel bad enough to stay home.
How to recapture your usual efficiency and focus? Spend less time in the office. Not dramatically less, but an hour or two. Note that this isn't a long-term strategy to increase efficiency, but rather one designed to help you get over the hump of whatever has got you off your regular game.
Why does this work? This tactic will:
Remove the PLM mindset. PLM is short for "Poor Little Me." Over the years, I've known lots of people who essentially fritter away Friday lunchtime or afternoon because they know they need to work over the weekend and they're having a serious pity party. Don't believe me? Repeat the following using your best Eeyore voice: "I may as well take a 2-hour lunch, since I have to be here all day Saturday anyway." Sound familiar? I thought so. Instead of taking a long lunch or surfing away a couple of hours, decide to leave at a set time that's a little earlier than you might otherwise, and stick to it. No pity party needed, because you're leaving early today. That'll make you more effective throughout the day. Why? That leads to the second benefit.
Plug into getting-ready-for-vacation mentality. Have you ever noticed how much you can accomplish on Friday when you know you'll be away from the office for the next week? You have something to look forward to, and you have a set time when you'll catch your plane, meet family or friends, or whatever. Deciding to leave the office an hour or two earlier than usual can help you shift into this mindset. Suppose you normally leave at 7, but instead you decide to leave at 5. How will you shift your day so you can leave early? Will you bring lunch to your desk? Eliminate those little breaks that add up to wasted time? Ask your secretary to hold non-critical calls? And what will you do with your "found time"? Maybe go to a movie, slide into the restaurant that's too crowded by the time you can usually get there, or just go home, put on sweats, order in Chinese, and relax. That's worth a manufactured in-office crunch on occasion.
Keep you from sitting in the office when you're being inefficient so you can recover. If you're too tired or you have a hideous headache or whatever, perhaps trying to focus isn't what you need or what will help you get your energy back. Of course, if you're on a deadline, you can't afford this luxury. But, for those ordinary times, cutting one day short may allow you to return to the office and do what you need to do the next day.
I assume it's obvious why I advocate this technique only for rare occasions, but let me belabor the point. You don't want to be the person who never goes to lunch and never has time to chat. You don't want to be the person who's always leaving early. And you probably don't want to have to cram everything possible into every day - if you do want to do that, you probably don't have an efficiency problem anyway.
But on occasion, cutting your time in the office can lead to a much-needed burst of efficiency. Use it wisely.
Time Management - To learn more about this author, visit Julie Fleming-Brown's Website.
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David AchesonDavid Acheson is the founder of DCJA Consultancy. DCJA Consultancy is a management consultancy business specialising in B2B sales consultancy. They offer bespoke and packaged sales consultancy including Sales Optimisation Review, Interim Sales Management, Sales & Marketing Review, 1:1 Sales & Management Staff Analysis, Management Training, Solution Sales Training, Creation of New Pay Plan, KPI's, run Customer Feedback Campaigns, assist with Recruitment, Coaching, Appraisals and set up Strategic Marketing Campaigns. David spent his early career in accountancy and then moved into sales in 1982, working in Office Equipment, IT, Advertising, Training, Outsourcing and Consultancy. He has held many Senior Positions in SMBs and Global Organisations including Head of Sales Operations & Head of Business Development. His knowledge, skills and great experience of the Sales Industry has led to David making keynote speeches and running educational sessions to key businesses through organisations including The Chamber of Commerce and Business Link. - Visit David Acheson's Website |
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Dave KurlanDave Kurlan is the founder and CEO of Objective Management Group, Inc., the industry leader in sales assessments and sales force evaluations, and the CEO of David Kurlan & Associates, Inc., a consulting firm specializing in sales force development. Dave has been a top rated speaker at Inc. Magazine's Conference on Growing the Company, the Sales & Marketing Management Conference and the Gazelles Sales & Marketing Summit. He has been featured on radio and TV, including World Business Review with General Norman Schwarzkopf, in Inc. Magazine, Selling Power Magazine, Sales & Marketing Management Magazine and Incentive Magazine. He is the author of Mindless Selling and Baseline Selling – How to Become a Sales Superstar by Using What You Already Know about the Game of Baseball. He created and wrote STAR, a proprietary recruiting process for hiring great salespeople, and he writes Understanding the Sales Force, a popular business Blog and is a contributing author to The Death of 20th Century Selling and 101 Great Ways to Improve Your Life, Volume 2. - Visit Dave Kurlan's Website |
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John PowerJohn Power, founder of Biltmore Franchise Consulting, has extensive experience developing and marketing franchises and business opportunities. He has been in and around franchising for over twenty years. From 1980 through 1990 he conceptualized, organized, and developed the American Video Association. He grew AVA to 2,000 national members, before selling the company it 1990. It was later merged into another home video marketing company. From 2000 to 2005 he worked as a contract marketing and human resources consultant to several local and national companies. In 2005 Mr. Power began working as a franchise development consultant on a full-time basis. Since that time he has helped more than three dozen companies initiate and develop their franchising program. He notes that there are many companies interested in developing a franchise program, and who need his specialized assistance. Mr. Power is a “hands-on” franchise consultant. He said, “I am the ‘nuts and bolts’ person who tends to the details for my clients.” Mr. Power holds a B.S. degree with a major in Marketing. See: www.biltmorefranchise.com You may contact Mr. Power at: jpower@biltmorefranchise.co - Visit John Power's Website |
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Linda RichardsonLinda Richardson is the Founder and Executive Chairwoman of Richardson, a global sales training and performance improvement company. As a recognized leader in the industry, she has won the coveted Stevie Award for Lifetime Achievement in Sales Excellence and she was identified by Training Industry, Inc. as one of the “Top 20 Most Influential Training Professionals.” Ms. Richardson is credited with the movement to Consultative Selling and is the author of ten books on selling and sales management, including Sales Coaching — Making the Great Leap from Sales Manager to Sales Coach, and Stop Telling, Start Selling. She teaches sales and management at the Wharton Graduate School of the University of Pennsylvania and the Wharton Executive Development Center. Linda is a frequent speaker at industry and client conferences, has been published extensively in industry and training journals, and has been featured in numerous publications, including The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Nation’s Business, Selling Power, Success, and The Conference Board Magazine. Learn more about Richardson's sales training and performance improvement solutions at http://www.richardson.com web - Visit Linda Richardson's Website |
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Stephanie RobeyStephanie Robey is President and CoFounder of Pivot Positive, LLC - an Internet marketing business focused on helping people start work at home ventures. Previously, she was employed at The Search Agency with over 20 years experience in graphic design and 10 years experience in online marketing. She was responsible for launching the Conversion Path Optimization (CPO) unit where she and her team have conducted hundreds of optimization tests for online companies across multiple verticals. She is a successful entrepreneur having started and sold 2 companies and remains on the board of directors of the third, PhotoSpin.com Stephanie began her career in the direct marketing realm creating and producing direct mail for many of the major cable television companies and directly attributes her understanding of Internet marketing to those early offline experiences. Stephanie is a graduate of San Diego State University with a BFA in Graphic Arts and also holds an Executive MBA from the Graziadio School of Business and Management at Pepperdine University. Read Steph's Blog Meet Steph and Dave Sign up for our Free 7-Day BootCamp: Self Employed & Rich - Visit Stephanie Robey's Website |
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