Episode 165, Complete more tasks in a day by implementing this strategy.

Simplify Your Sales and Business meetings. Lisa Thal is an Author, Speaker, and Business Coach. She has over 35 years of marketing, sales, and leadership experience. She wrote the book "Three Word Meetings."  Lisa coaches leaders on simplifying sales and business meetings with fun and interesting 3-word  topics to motivate and inspire your sales team.

 

Episode 165, Complete more tasks in a day by implementing this strategy.

 

I was having lunch with a client discussing business and life. We both are in management roles, coaching sales teams, generating revenue, seeing customers, leading projects for the company, and involved in multiple meetings throughout the day, zoom or in person. Some days She shared that it's amazing I get anything done.

 

Can you relate to this situation? Add in family responsibilities to your work, and you may feel like you are getting nothing accomplished. 

 

She asked me how I manage my Time and get so much done. You have your job, Three Word Podcast, a weekly blog, running your dogs daily, weekend golf, and Time with your family and friends. 

 

How do you do it?

 

I answered that I use a system I learned where you Time block your day.   

 

So, I thought I would share with you the system to complete more in a day that helps you focus on your work with limited distractions and can help you be more efficient in your tasks. I want to make sure you understand that this is not multitasking. It is task switching with focus and purpose.

 

You will feel more in control of your day, more productive, and get more work done. We all want to feel like we are accomplishing something each day.

 

So to begin, let me share what I mean by Time blocking. 

 

In football, offensive linemen are looking to protect the quarterback. They form a pocket around the quarterback and block defenders from getting through. 

 

What Is Time Blocking?

Time blocking involves protecting and planning every moment of your day and dedicating specific time "blocks" for certain tasks and responsibilities.

 

When you fill your calendar with the tasks and things you want to do, it's harder for others to steal your Time.

 

Yes, we need to focus Time on thinking and strategizing solutions to help our customers and blocking Time with other co-workers to improve processes in your company. Time blocking is effective because you focus on one specific task at a time.   

 

For example, my mental and physical wellness is at the top of the list. I run my dogs and listen to audiobooks that teach and inspire me before I get to work each day. I time block throughout the day to check emails, return phone calls, coach the sales team, and meet with customers, Time to think. For example, I strategically block Time on my calendar to complete the most critical task that is a must to finish.

 

But how do you use this technique for the best results? 

 

Prioritize Your Tasks

You must prioritize your tasks if you want the Time blocking technique to work. The main idea behind using this process is to enable efficient time management. It means you don't lose valuable Time by thinking about which one to do first. 

 

High priority work at the right Time. That's where prioritizing comes in. By identifying the essential tasks in your schedule, you know which task needs more attention from you. A good way of handling these tasks is to put them in the prime Time of your day. Your prime Time is the Time of the day when you feel the most productive. I am a morning person, so I focus on those tasks first. 

 

When you feel more productive, you also become more efficient. So focusing on your priority tasks at this Time helps you get things done more efficiently.

 

Add blocks for reactive tasks each day

We tend to overestimate what we can do in a day. You still have emails to answer, calls to take, and meetings to attend. However, the power of time blocking comes in choosing when you do these tasks instead of letting them take over your day.

 

Get more from your day

With the development of technology, you can use apps and tools online to create your schedule.

You can use a few simple and free tools to make it that much easier.

 

Any calendar app will do. However, if you want to use Google Calendar, I found this list of power features and best practices to make the most of it.

 

Either you control your calendar, or it controls you

Other people like to steal our time. Time blocking is only one of the many time management strategies out there. Yet, it's one of the most popular for a reason.

 

We all live by our calendars. And the more you can be in control of what's on there, the more in control you'll be of your Time, focus, and productivity.

 

Keep in mind that Single-tasking - Focusing on one task at a time—can make you up to 80% more productive than splitting your attention across multiple tasks. Plus, you will stay connected to others when you know you have time set aside later for checking email, replying to internal messages, and checking in on your social networks.

 

We all have the same amount of Time each day. How you manage and block time will be the difference maker. 

 

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Learn more about Simplifying Your sales meetings using 3-word topics at http://www.threewordmeetings.com.