Like you, I always seem to have a list of deadlines, demands, and projects commanding my attention at the same time. Like you, I can feel overwhelmed quickly and, in so doing, be challenged by the lack of time to do anything well.
Over the years I’ve improved my time management skills by realizing it’s not an issue of time management; it’s rather an issue of priority management.
Below are a few questions I ask myself to help keep things in perspective and to help me focus on the priorities.
- Can it be delegated? Who else might I be able to involve?
- Why is it time driven and is the deadline real or merely an artificial deadline?
- What’s the downside if I don’t get it done? (We tend to fear the worst when the worst rarely, if ever, happens.)
- Will this activity move me closer to achieving my strategic goals?
- Is the project in its entirety something I need to do or is there merely a small segment I can focus my efforts against?
I’ve come to accept the fact I can’t do two things at once any more than I can be in two places at once. I’m far better focusing on one thing for a smaller amount of time than thinking I can multi-task over a longer period of time.
Copyright 2016, Mark Hunter “The Sales Hunter.” Sales Motivation Blog. Mark Hunter is the author of High-Profit Selling: Win the Sale Without Compromising on Price.
