Meet your fourth quarter goals by managing yourself...not time

With the fourth quarter fast approaching, many organizations will be assessing their performance to date against annual sales goals. Most will still have a way to go to meet those goals. Effective "time management" will be critical. Many sales representatives, managers and executives have not mastered this critical business skill because time management is a misnomer. What we really need to manage is ourselves...not time. I recommend that the focus be on how we use our time to increase productivity. That means we need to change the way we do things, in order to get a better result-whether more sales appointments, proposal presentations and ultimately, sales. That change isn't easy and the statistics prove it. Researchers have learned that approximately 95% of what we do every day is done out of habit and that includes the attitudes we have. How we think directly influences our actions, which in turn, determines the results we achieve. It's not enough to simply create new procedures for how we act; there also must be a change in our habits of thought. This enables us to control what we achieve over the course of any given time span - a hour, a day, a week, a month, a quarter or a year. Once we have changed our habits of thinking, there are other ways to more effectively manage ourselves so that we can achieve more with our time. For instance, too many meetings are one of the biggest time wasters in the workplace. A U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistic finding was that unnecessary meeting cost U.S. business an estimated $37 billion annually. When should you schedule a meeting? Meetings should be scheduled only when the communication would be enhanced if a personal exchange of ideas among multiple participants is warranted or a decision is to be made. We can also optimize our time by not multi-tasking. Studies have proven than a very small percentage of individuals-less than 5%-can actually multitask without there being a negative impact on any of the tasks they're simultaneously performing. For the majority, multitasking actually reduces productivity and quality in the long run because the mind can only focus on one thing at a time. Finally, how many times in a week are you bothered by interruptions? A TIME Magazine article found that office workers experience interruptions about seven times per hour or a total of 56 interruptions per day. What makes these interruptions worse is that, according to the TIME article, 80% of the interruptions are regarded as trivial. I suggest you manage yourself, by not allowing yourself to be interrupted. Let coworkers know that you have priorities and are not available all day long or at any time unless the situation is of a time-sensitive and/or critical nature which requires your immediate attention. You will be surprised at how interruptions can be minimized simply by changing how you think about them and respond to them. I also suggest avoiding self-imposed interruptions such as checking your email constantly. One of the best ways to manage ourselves and therefore accomplish the most with our time is through written goals. Take the time to set goals and write them down so you can remain focused on them as well as regularly benchmark your performance against them. For the fourth quarter of 2012, consider what you still want to accomplish for the balance of 2012 and develop a step-by-step plan of action to help you achieve those goals. Executives take note of this advice for yourself and pass it on to employees, including your sales representatives. There is still time to make major strides before year's end. By raising the awareness of your team members and changing habits of thought and the behavior caused, steady progress toward your business goals can be achieved. For more information on this productivity subject or various learning programs we offer, visit our website or give me a call. Jerry Siegel is president of JASB Management, Syosset, N.Y.