You Are Barking up the Wrong Tree With Time Management Techniques
You Are Barking up the Wrong Tree With Time Management Techniques
Time management techniques are essential tools – they tell you how to make your schedule, what activities to do to organize your time, etc -- The problem is that they are only as good as the person using them. (that would be you!)
Stephen Covey said it best: “Time management is a misnomer…the real challenge is to manage ourselves”.
Time management techniques assume that you can manage yourself well in order for them to work. Take a gut check for a moment, how well do you manage yourself?
Here are 3 examples to see if you relate:
1) You have a new idea you want to send out in an email to your clients, and you block out from 4-5pm this afternoon to do it. Excellent time management technique. When 4pm rolls around: you think to yourself: What will my clients think of this email, what if they don’t respond? What if they think it’s a stupid idea? Do I really know enough to write about this idea, maybe I better go find out more on the internet, etc. The way you manage yourself, not what you have written in your schedule, that will determine whether you procrastinate in that moment or not.
2) You schedule 30 minute blocks of time to check your email. First time you check your email you get an email from your boss asking to check in with you about progress on your high visibility project for him. What’s your reaction? Do you go into a panic, wondering whether you have done “enough”, worried what your boss will think of you? Do you lose 10-15 minutes obsessing about it? If so, you’ve now thrown off your 30 minutes to answer emails.
3) You had an awkward interaction with a client this morning. You have date night with your spouse tonight, but the whole time you end up talking through this difficult interaction: worrying what the client will think, whether they will still do business with you, etc. You scheduled the time with your spouse but you are not present it. Nor did you schedule in the 20 minutes you will probably stress about it before you fall asleep.
The idea is that time management is a two part process: how you schedule your time outside of you, and how you manage yourself inside of you. One without the other will not give you focus, productivity, and the balance you want.
Instead of focusing on “managing your time”, focus on cleaning up the time you waste that is not accounted for by your time management systems.
1)Pay more attention to the thoughts you say to yourself in response to interactions with others. Be rigorous with yourself to make your thoughts constructive, so they help you take action that will move you forward towards your goals, rather than keep you stuck going over what has already happened or what might happen in the future.
2)When tempted to take things personally, view the other person’s behavior as having a lot more to do with them than you (Separate “My stuff” from “Not my stuff”)
3)Consistently work towards building your core competence and ask questions to get a clear idea of what your client or boss wants, so you won’t be caught up worrying the absence of information thinking you are ‘not enough’.
You Are Barking up the Wrong Tree With Time Management Techniques - To learn more about this author, visit Sharon Melnick's Website.
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Here’s Why time management techniques haven’t worked for you:
Time management techniques are essential tools – they tell you how to make your schedule, what activities to do to organize your time, etc -- The problem is that they are only as good as the person using them. (that would be you!)
Stephen Covey said it best: “Time management is a misnomer…the real challenge is to manage ourselves”.
Time management techniques assume that you can manage yourself well in order for them to work. Take a gut check for a moment, how well do you manage yourself?
Here are 3 examples to see if you relate:
1) You have a new idea you want to send out in an email to your clients, and you block out from 4-5pm this afternoon to do it. Excellent time management technique. When 4pm rolls around: you think to yourself: What will my clients think of this email, what if they don’t respond? What if they think it’s a stupid idea? Do I really know enough to write about this idea, maybe I better go find out more on the internet, etc. The way you manage yourself, not what you have written in your schedule, that will determine whether you procrastinate in that moment or not.
2) You schedule 30 minute blocks of time to check your email. First time you check your email you get an email from your boss asking to check in with you about progress on your high visibility project for him. What’s your reaction? Do you go into a panic, wondering whether you have done “enough”, worried what your boss will think of you? Do you lose 10-15 minutes obsessing about it? If so, you’ve now thrown off your 30 minutes to answer emails.
3) You had an awkward interaction with a client this morning. You have date night with your spouse tonight, but the whole time you end up talking through this difficult interaction: worrying what the client will think, whether they will still do business with you, etc. You scheduled the time with your spouse but you are not present it. Nor did you schedule in the 20 minutes you will probably stress about it before you fall asleep.
The idea is that time management is a two part process: how you schedule your time outside of you, and how you manage yourself inside of you. One without the other will not give you focus, productivity, and the balance you want.
Instead of focusing on “managing your time”, focus on cleaning up the time you waste that is not accounted for by your time management systems.
1)Pay more attention to the thoughts you say to yourself in response to interactions with others. Be rigorous with yourself to make your thoughts constructive, so they help you take action that will move you forward towards your goals, rather than keep you stuck going over what has already happened or what might happen in the future.
2)When tempted to take things personally, view the other person’s behavior as having a lot more to do with them than you (Separate “My stuff” from “Not my stuff”)
3)Consistently work towards building your core competence and ask questions to get a clear idea of what your client or boss wants, so you won’t be caught up worrying the absence of information thinking you are ‘not enough’.
You Are Barking up the Wrong Tree With Time Management Techniques - To learn more about this author, visit Sharon Melnick'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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