Managing time

I love a good sci-fi film involving time travel. Back to the Future is a classic and the Bill and Ted films are excellent. But ‘time management’ is more than just managing oneself and using that most valuable of resources – time – intelligently. ‘Self-management’ is a far more accurate term.

It is a hot topic in training, as many salespeople know they could be better at it and appreciate the difference it makes to their productivity. Like ‘closing’, they often seek a magic bullet, but as with closing there isn’t one, and it is down to doing a series of things well. I break down the concept and key activities to give people a structure to manage themselves and their decision making better, for this is what really makes the difference.

The process of understanding how to make better decisions about time and other valuable resources is based on understanding these key elements:

1. Purpose – What are you here for? Not in an existential or deep way (though taking time to tie things back to values and personal drivers does make sense, as that creates a far more powerful desire to act). In the time we have available we focus on our aims and on our role; to use another word, ‘objectives’.
2. Roles and responsibilities – What do you do? Essentially, how should your job be defined, and what do you need to do to achieve your objectives?
3. Activities – What do you actually do? This considers ‘a day in the life’. A list of all the tasks actually performed can usually uncover things that do not contribute to achieving objectives: stop doing them.
4. Priorities – What should you be doing and when? Now we get down to the bit many people find difficult, using their time most effectively. This is based on an understanding of ‘urgent’ and ‘important’.
   • urgent means ‘the closer to the deadline the more urgent’: simple, not to be confused with
   • important, which is based on impact: the greater the contribution to achieving objectives then the more important something is.

‘Urgent’ and ‘important’ often get confused and this is when people make poor choices in using their time. Understanding the difference and defining tasks and how to undertake them is how we can really make a difference: assign your tasks to one of four categories.

Important AND urgent

Two types of task are often found in this category: ones that could not have foreseen, and others that have been left until the last minute.

Eliminate last-minute activities by planning ahead and avoiding procrastination, and leave time available to handle unexpected issues and unplanned but important activities.

Not important AND not urgent

These trivial activities are just a distraction – avoid them if possible.

You can often simply ignore or cancel many of them; often nobody notices. However, there some may be activities that other people want you to do, even though they don’t contribute to your objective. A polite ‘no’ and short explanation usually works. That you are focusing on customer-facing activity is enough reason for most people.

Not important BUT urgent

These are things that prevent you from achieving your goals. Try to reschedule or delegate.

Other people often generate these tasks. Sometimes it is appropriate to say ‘no’ (politely), or to encourage people to solve the problem themselves. Alternatively, try to have time slots when you are available to deal with people. This can be tough for salespeople but doing this allows you to concentrate on important activities (like writing proposals or prospecting) for longer and ultimately better results.

Important BUT not urgent

These are the activities that help you achieve your personal and professional goals.

Schedule plenty of time to do these things properly, so that they do not become urgent. Planning and blocking out this time helps us stay on track, and avoid unnecessary stress.

The theory is simple though the application can be harder, particularly as trivial activities are often fun and/or easy and urgent but not important requests from senior people need tact to manage.

(Extract from Hybrid Selling by Fred Copestake, 2021)