“I don’t have enough time”, “I have to work late tonight”, “I have to pick up the kids”, “I have to go to the supermarket”, “I’m too tired to get out of bed that early”, “I’m too exhausted after work”, “I think I need another rest day”, “I don’t have time to take a lunch break”.

We’ve all made these excuses at one time or another in our lives or careers.

We can all make these excuses today but if we are truly committed to achieving in life, we have to find a way to overcome this sometimes overwhelming hurdle.

As sales and business professionals, we all face challenges:

* The challenges of learning new business skills
* The challenge of overcoming the fear of rejection
* The challenge of moving to the absolute limit of our comfort zone.

However, one challenge that we are not all so apt at facing head-on, is something that we all must deal with no matter who we are and at what level of success we are currently achieving. It catches up to every one of us.

It’s the challenge of time management.

Here are a few quick tips on managing your time more efficiently and getting more done in less time.

1. Long-Term Goal Setting

This is the first step in proper and successful time management in any area. We need to set goals. We need to decide what we want to achieve so that we can set up a plan to get there. Once we know a desired outcome, we can gain greater concentration, constantly focusing on our desired future performance.

2. Short-Term Goal Setting:
Once our long term, large-scale goals are set, it is also important to set mini goals for ourselves along the way. This will help us to focus on our long-term vision by providing us with short-term motivation.

3. Prioritizing

Along with setting our goals on both a large and small scale, we also have to force ourselves to prioritize our activities and put them into our daily calendars.

4. Scheduling

In scheduling our days, we must consider what we can realistically accomplish in the each 24 hour block. We need to plan to make the best use of our time. This may mean giving up certain activities that do not contribute towards the achievement of our goals. Like TV, socializing and even sleeping as much as you may do now.

5. Attitude Assessment

Finally, we must also pay attention to our attitude and our commitment to our goals. Is there any part of our mindset that is holding us back or eating up our time? This is a problem that must be fixed before we can succeed. Is the goal something we really want to do? If so, then we need to get motivated. Go back to our original goal to remember why we wanted to accomplish this task in the first place.

Now we have no excuses. We know how to meet the physical and mental challenges of achieving our goals and there’s not much else that can stop us from success. With some goal setting, prioritizing, and a positive attitude, we can conquer the final challenge of time!

Have a great week. Make it a great week.

Stumble it!