It’s probably pretty safe to assume that nearly everyone could use more hours in the day, right? Whether you’re running out of time to meet a project deadline, trying to get more done between meetings, or just need more time to sleep.
We often find ourselves unable to meet deadlines because we spend our days putting out fires and responding to multiple interruptions. As a result, we need a longer work day to get it all done! In today’s streamlined corporate environment, employees are expected to handle more tasks with fewer resources. Without effective time management skills, new project deadlines and changing priorities can be overwhelming, causing workers to feel out of control, frustrated and despondent.
An important key to better time management at the office is the ability for workers to proactively manage time for themselves first, enabling them to focus on corporate objectives and deadlines more efficiently.
A good training program can help employees set realistic goals, maintain focus, and understand how their own behavior contributes to poor time management — particularly when faced with potential distractions like social media and frequent interruptions by co-workers.
Keep your Eyes on the Prize
Although everyone can benefit from solid time management skills, the ability to budget time effectively has a very significant value that literally impacts the bottom line for some professionals. For example, time is the most valuable asset of a salesperson working on commission. The biggest obstacle that many salespeople face is that they don’t have enough time in their schedules to do what they are being paid to do; namely, to sell.
Specialized time management training for salespeople can address the unique challenges that sales staff deal with as they try to better manage their time, such as administrative tasks, high-maintenance clients and external customer requirements. Armed with these tools, salespeople are better equipped to set goals and prioritize customer visits, helping them to keep their eyes on the prize and making the difference between success and failure.
What would you do with more hours in the day?
John Males is Founder and President of Fathom Corporate Training. With more than 20 years of experience in management, sales and negotiations, he helps clients increase employee satisfaction, lower turnover, increase revenue and raise profit margins.
