Are you always busy? Here’s how to manage your time

Over the years, I have learned that time planning is crucial when an employee can no longer see the forest for the trees. Someone doesn’t meet his targets, and the agenda is empty, but the mailbox is full. If you ask how things are going, that person is always busy. When I notice this, I take the time to put everything on hold for that employee. Together, we then calmly go through what needs to be done and organize and prioritize.

Separating the essential tasks from the minor ones, that’s what it often comes down to. You’re more likely to take up a request from a friendly colleague than to phone that troublesome lead. If it were just two things, it would be easy to plan. But usually, you have a full mailbox, tasks open in HubSpot, and you probably have a separate to-do list lying around somewhere.

By asking yourself the following two questions and answering them honestly, you can quickly restore order:

1. Which tasks produce results?

2. What tasks give you energy?

The first question helps you to adopt a helicopter view and look at everything from above. Also, ask yourself what is essential or discuss this with your sales manager. If you have done this, you will see that there are probably many unimportant e-mails or to-do’s that have nothing to do with sales. These contribute less to the result you want to achieve: reaching your target!

Now the second question. Based on the answer to this question, you can easily organize your task based on your priorities. By tackling these issues, you can quickly cross some to-do’s off your list and get into a happy and productive workflow. This will give you the strength to take on more challenging tasks later.

Bonus tip: the first hit is a real winner

I used to update my mailbox from old to new. Thanks to my colleague Michiel, I now tackle my mailbox the other way round. First, look for warm opportunities at the top of your mailbox. Pick them up immediately because they have the highest chance of success!