In the corporate and entrepreneurial world, I have heard how a daily routine can impact your success rate. Truth be told, we are creatures of habit. And those habits over an extended period form who we are. Ultimately, we want to attract success in our lives, and we can by what we choose to focus on. Having a daily routine helps us focus and develop healthy habits that fuel our success. Read on to find out how this can make a difference for you and your sales team.
Importance of a daily routine.
I can see a vast difference in my 20’s self versus my 30’s self because of my daily routine. I am not going to advocate a rigid, steadfast routine of being up by 4am, meditation at 5am and a whole grain breakfast at 6am—nope! I have learnt that you must choose what works for you based on your ‘season’. What do I mean?
Well in my early 20’s I had a full-time job while completing University. After work, I’ll get in, take a nap and be up at 2am to study and be out the house for a 2-hour commute to work. Now, with corporate life, business commitments and family I understand that I am most productive from mid-morning to afternoon because I require at least 7 hours rest to function at a 12-hour day.
Here is what this experience has taught me about developing a daily routine and its importance:
- Writing down what you seek to achieve (especially the night before) for the following day, trains your mind to ensuring you accomplish those tasks. I highly recommend 3 key/ critical items daily.
- Test. It is OK to test yourself to see what works and how you can tweak. For example, instead of checking your social media accounts when you wake up, you may choose to skim your email and flag those for priority when you do start your workday.
- Feed your mind, body and spirit. Part of your routine should always include this. I will say include some exercise, read a self-help book and connect with your Divine entity. I am testing this currently at the start of the day versus end of the day. This is so hard, but I’m prepared!
- Prioritization. There is always going to be competing tasks. Having a routine, helps you to give priority to those critical tasks that require your attention (for example, working on projects and deadlines).
- Distractions. There will be countless distractions. I recommend a phone app that will allow you to minimize/block social media notifications. You may mean also put your phone on silent for an hour or have your calls answered by your Assistant so that you can build momentum.
- Check your weekly analytics (if using Outlook). It tells you how you have done the week before in answering email, collaborations and focus time. I have learnt that not responding to every email right away helps to boost your productivity.
- Do email in chunks. In looking at Neil Patel’s interview on his daily routine (https://youtu.be/tzEcQ6awQx4 ) I found this to be a useful tip. See #6 and be sure to practice this thereafter. Don’t spend all day answering email.
- Fires may occur. There will be the unexpected that will crop up, and it will be ok to diffuse. Ensure this is time scheduled into your daily routine also but don’t make it a constant.
- Sales Habits. Jeb Blount once said that his “personal failure was due to a lack of self-discipline to the little things every day.” If you are part of a sales team or lead one, you must develop daily habits that contribute to the overall success. For example, blocking out small chunks of time in your calendar for prospecting and minimizing distractions during this time can help you with those calls. See https://youtu.be/P1msbYalQFY.
- Measure and Track. Look at your results from your daily routine weekly and monthly. It may contain the answer to how you become more efficient.
Do you have a daily routine? Share yours and how you have influenced your team’s success by this. Or email [email protected] to discuss how to increase your efficiency and your team’s through daily routines.