Successful habits:
Top Ten Time Traps
We know that time wasting has been raised to an art-form. We are surrounded by time wasting traps, which are often ironically advertised to save time. Think about how much time is spent reading e-mail, ‘researching’ the internet, working the palm pilot or other fruit-flavored gadget that’s grabbed the market’s attention. The traps are seductive and catch a lot of us, but with a little knowledge and a smaller amount of discipline, you can create ‘catch and release’ instead of ending up as ‘catch of the day’.
The most productive people know these ten time traps must be avoided:
- I’ll handle my procrastination issue later, thank you: If you don’t get on the phone, it can mean quick business death, and yet what to do about the 500 lb gorilla it’s turned into? Phone fear is irrational, but everyone deals with fear-based procrastination at one time or another…sometimes quite regularly. The best learn to make the phone their friend and take regular breaks from the calling routine. If possible, stand while talking on the phone, as it improves your posture, speech and ability to ‘think on your feet’. Prioritize your day and keep yourself accountable to the list.
- Go Ready or Go Home: Anyone in sales has large stresses they take on, which often results in rushed presentation prep or advance paperwork. Clients and prospects don’t like costly, annoying delays. Don’t skimp in this area by thinking the ‘small stuff’ doesn’t matter, because it will bite your backside in ways you’ll never see coming. Details need to be confirmed, for both accuracy and clarity – and most of all, for the confidence you’ll have knowing you’re good to go.
- Don’t look for what ain’t supposed to be lost: That business card with an important number written on its back; car keys, glasses, cell phone – anything you don’t have a routine set to handle, you will end up treating carelessly, and the time lost in the furtive search for the items you use most in life will cost you more than that anxiety attack you’re bringing on for yourself. Have a personal system for handling ‘Going Out’ and ‘Coming In’ and stick with it.
- Make your calls like a cat burglar: Get in and out with minimum exposure and always leave ‘em wanting more. Set a time limit for each call, have a purpose, have all your prep work within reach, and make sure you tell people when you’re available to talk. Be polite, but ask to call back if you have a long-talker and catch them just as they’re going home for the day – that should keep the conversations to a minimum. That phone’s a tool, not a toy. Invest in a good headset if you’re telemarketing, as this will minimize your fatigue.
- Negating the negative: Granny always said, “Watch that your words are sweet, as you may need to eat them.” Nobody likes a griper, another big time trapper. Negative thoughts that are given attention will grow into negative statements. They are unproductive and dangerous. Drive negative thoughts from your mind as they come up, (a very good habit to develop) and surround yourself with positive-minded people as often as possible. Start each day taking a “grateful inventory” of your many blessings and gifts. Acknowledge that there is abundance for everyone in the universe and accept that you have a legitimate claim to tap into the source. Then go out and act in the positive and certain ways that lead to success. How to turn failure around? Double it: set more appointments, get in front of more people and by doubling your rate of failure you can actually improve your rate of success.
- Jello is for dessert, not your appointment calendar: You don’t like ‘squishy’ appointments, do you? Firm them up by calling your prospect or client . Make a quick call before you go, with a carefully worded statement that shows you’re serious - don’t call ‘just to confirm’; say, “Hi, Susan, I’ve been preparing for our meeting and thought I’d let you know I’ll be there right at 4:00. I think you’ll be excited about what I have to show you.” Conversely, to leave without confirming – a fear-based inaction that costs many sales people entire business days – means time and energy spent traveling… for nothing. It’s aggravating and can affect your positive mindset. Always call to confirm your appointments - the time you save can be spent prospecting, you won’t lose your focus and people appreciate working with purposeful people.
- Long meetings kill more than company morale: This one is a “big time” time trapper. If you lead a team, consider how many meetings you hold and why. Try a meeting in a ‘standing only’ situation, and see if business isn’t done more quickly without the comfortable chairs.
- Use that time behind the wheel: The average sales person drives over 25,000 miles per year… that’s more than 500 hours per year, depending on how badly congested the freeways are. Make that time count for something more than improving your karaoke idol tryout. Books on tape for language, motivation, history, self-improvement, sales training are excellent for making the best of a long commute or breaking up a series of appointment trips. Leave the karaoke for the shower – the acoustics are better.
- Ditch the 2+ hour lunch: Like the phone call menace, this time trapper can sneak away with an entire afternoon of peak productivity. Make your lunches purposeful and a respite from work as much as possible… eat light and get back to the office refreshed. If you are dining with a chatty client, plan your time and stick to it. At a l:00pm lunch date, saying something like, “This is good – my schedule’s clear until 2:30 so we have time to talk” helps set business as a focus.
- Television, the best grow light for a couch potato: Television is probably the most time-trapping activity plaguing America today. Make TV time work for you the same way your driving time can work for you by watching sales training, motivation, success-mindset DVDs, or biographies of successful entrepreneurs and historical pioneers. You don’t need a lecture on the vapid wasteland that defines most of what’s on TV; be smart, stay active and make it work for you instead of becoming a prime-time slave.
