Today marks the first official day of Autumn for 2016. The end of the year is well on its way and I am certain you have goals to reach. Take a minute to be honest with yourself and really think … what have I done TODAY to reach my goal?
It’s 11:00 am central time so chances are you’ve been at work for a solid few hours today. Let’s go with 4 – that’s 240 minutes. That’s two hundred and forty opportunities to reach your end goal. Did you take them? We all have limited time and most of you already know to make every minute count. Sometimes, though, it’s easier said than done. Let’s talk about a few ways you can tweak your minutes spent so that you’re truly on the right track to reaching your goals.
The Tweaks:
-
Know The Cost
Productivity comes at a price. Write down your end goal and then make a list of everything you are going to have to give up or “spend” to reach it. Maybe there’s a major client and they can only meet during your weekend trip to the cabin. The cost is giving up your weekend of fun (but hey, closing a big deal is fun in our eyes). Maybe you want to take a seminar to develop a skill. Your cost is giving up the three hours of time you could be working on your other project. Whatever it may be, knowing the cost ahead of time will help you, when the situation occurs. Instead of being disappointed that your plans are suddenly foiled, you know you thought of this and made a choice. You’ll already know what to do and know it’s worth it in the long run.
-
Hide Your Inbox
How many of your 240 minutes today have you peaked an your inbox or instantly replied to an email because “it will just take a minute”? You’re wasting your time! Now, replying to emails in a timely manner IS important. Communicating and following up is something we do every single day at our company. BUT, if you send an email and get a response within the next 4 or even 8 hours, are you happy? I am! (“Thanks for getting back to me same day – that’s speedy!”) The problem with keeping your inbox open at all times is that you lose focus on the important projects. It might only take one minute to reply, but it takes several minutes of your attention away from that clear, in-the-zone focus you should be executing on your important work. Put the inbox away and set one or two designated blocks of time each day to dig through it. Your un-scattered mind will thank you later!
-
Start Doing
Learning and knowing everything about your line of work and your life is amazing and, in my opinion, important. I soak up valuable content like a dry sponge thrown into water! However, reading this post and reading all the incredible books from leading executives and reading inspirational content to get you motivated is not going to help you at all … if you don’t actually do anything. You took 10 minutes to read this post (thanks, by the way!) when you should have spent 10 minutes making that follow up call to close the deal. The truth is, you’re probably not going to be successful unless you fail. Try and learn. Then try and learn again. Then again. The only way to get the success is to stop fearing about the failure and do something. Take action to reach your goal. Stop planning and start executing, right now.
Too much to read? Here’s the gist:
- First, know ahead of time what you will have to give up to reach your goals, so that when decisions get tough, you feel confident that you’re making the right choices to reach your goals.
- Second, set one or two designated times to check your emails and hide it the rest of the day so you don’t lose your in-the-zone focus on your really important projects.
- Third, having knowledge and finding inspiration is great, but you will only be on your way to success if you actually start executing your plans, rather than strategizing about them.
We want you to be successful as much as you do. We are constantly working to improve on existing and create new tools to help you execute and reach (surpass) your goals. Please, take advantage of us to get there. If we’re not doing something that we should be to make your life easier, tell us!
Now, get doing and have a wonderful, productive day!
Three Square Market 