Time management is an essential skill, and hour blocking is a powerful way to master this skill.You can use it to block off hours in your schedule and get more things finished. It enables you to take control of sales priorities and tasks each day.
Follow this process to take advantage of this valuable technique:
- Start with planning. Make a list of all your important priorities/tasks for the week. Then, narrow this list down to three to five essential tasks.
Be realistic about your planning. Avoid thinking that you can do a million tasks in one day or week.
2. Block your hours. After you have a short list of tasks (cold calling; researching prospects; proposal writing, list “clean up,” calling “open” quotes; etc.), block the hours on your schedule in one-hour time slots. This is called time blocking and essentially requires you to take each hour and assign a task or item to it.
3. Reduce distractions. One Hour blocking demands that you eliminate distractions, so you don’t lose focus, so you can accomplish more!
- Figure out what your main distractions are. Do you “get distracted” or waste time on social media or constantly check your phone? Do you spend minutes that turn into a half hour in your email inbox and respond to every message instantly?
- Eliminate or reduce these distractions. You may want to set aside a specific chunk of time each day to handle your social media, email inbox, and other tasks that distract you from your more essential actions.
- Also, when you’re working, let others know that you’re busy so they can limit their interruptions.
4. Review your time blocks regularly. Make adjustments as needed. If your tasks or priorities change, or you find that they take more time than you thought, modify your time blocks to take the new information into account.
- Reviewing your time blocks will also give you the chance to see when you’re most productive. If you do your best work in the morning, schedule more important tasks during these hours. Reviews will help you evaluate your productivity levels and decide which parts need attention.
- Another advantage of doing reviews is that it gives you the chance to see if your reminders are working or if they need to be changed.
Effective time management and “time blocks” can help you finish more sales tasks each day & week and feel more accomplished, as you generate RESULTS.Hour blocking is a useful method for greater productivity and personal accountability! Make it a habit for the next 30 days!
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