What have you done so far?

We are 1171 hours into the year.

In case you didn’t realize it, there is only 8760 hours left this year.

The average person sleeps 2555 hours a year.

That leaves a little over 5000 hours for the balance of the year.

WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO WITH THAT TIME???

The following items can help you make the most of every hour of every day.

Plan your week out before it starts

Making a plan of your week ahead of time eliminates wasteful activities throughout the day. It usually takes between 1-2 hours each week to plan out your week. Choose the same time and location each week, and play your favorite music or treat yourself to a special food while you make your schedule. This way, you eventually end up establishing your planning time as a habit, and it becomes an activity that you look forward to.

Get important things done first every day

Although you may be used to starting your day with a leisurely cup of coffee and reading a slew of emails, you are wasting the most powerful part of your sales day. A recent study showed that over a third of workers and salespeople are at their most productive between 9am and 11am.

Cut out distractions

First, you need to know exactly how much time you’re losing to distractions and when you’re most likely to go off-track. Take a few days and audit your time. How much time are you spending on social media? Non-work phone calls? Are you more distracted when you’re hungry? How much of your day is spent reading and answering emails?

After you’ve observed your own behavior, you can create a plan that helps you be more on-task during the day. Turn off e-mail notifications and social media pings during your times of weakest focus.

Focus on results-oriented activities (the 80/20 principle)

Mentally go through your daily responsibilities. Which ones have the highest conversion rate? Which ones have proven to lead to long-term investments from clients? Which ones make up the bulk of your income? Whittle that list down to the top 3-5 tasks. That is your 20% that brings in 80% of your business.

Do one thing (or, one type of thing) at a time by batching tasks

When someone asks you how to be more productive, your gut instinct might be to suggest multitasking. Unfortunately, multitasking is simply counterproductive.

Don’t try, Don’t think about every possible roadblock… Just do It!

After you planned a course of action, take action.

At the end of the day all that needs to be done is for you to sit down, write out a plan, then work the plan. Focus and make the most out of every hour of every day. Don’t waste time THINKING you are productive. Get results.