| The basic purpose of a "to-do" list is to help you remember to follow through on something you committed to or would like to get done. The problem is when you sit down to create a "to-do" list all the items you think of, regardless of when they have to be completed, often all appear on one giant list.
These giant "to-do" lists often make us feel overwhelmed, frustrated, trapped and less productive rather than more productive. The most basic function of a day planner is to act as a 365-day "to-do" list. Instead of having one giant, hope you lose it and never find it again list, you have 365 little manageable ones that keep you focused and productive. PDAs, Outlook®, Act®, Goldmine® and every good contact management system on the market today gives you the ability to do this but few people take advantage of this simple function.
Think of the power of this one skill. Now if you think of something you can’t do until next Wednesday you can put it on next Wednesday’s “to-do” list and forget about it. If you use your planning device everyday then that task will come back to you all by itself on the day you selected. How much stress would this reduce in your life? If a client asks you to call them back in three months you no longer have to beat yourself up trying to remember, you can let your follow up system do it for you. A customer says budgets are frozen until fall, not a problem. Put it in your system and forget about it.
Creating “future to-do” lists as I call them is a skill that is at the heart of great selling, great follow-up and great time management. What are the chances that your customer is going to be ready to buy from you the first time you contact them? If you don’t have a fool proof system for following up you might as well give that sale to your competitor.
Master this one time management skill and you will significantly reduce the amount of stress in your life as well as dramatically improve your ability to sell and be productive. -- Steve McClatchy is the president of Alleer Training & Consulting 800-860-1171
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