It was only 10 a.m., but I felt like I’d already put in a full day.
After an intense planning session with a business partner and a one-hour conference call with a hot prospect, my energy was sagging. Not good. I needed to finish a big project for a client. The deadline was looming, but I’d hit a stuck point and my mind was fried.
So I did what any self-respecting, stressed-out person does under pressure: I spent a few minutes reviewing my notes, then put on my tennis shoes and left the office. After a 20-minute walk on a beautiful summer day, I returned refreshed. When I sat down at my desk again, I was clear on what needed to be done next. The bottleneck was gone. The project would be completed before the deadline.
While your time is a finite resource, your energy level is a renewable one. Slogging away at your desk isn’t the answer to getting more done. Nor is pounding the phones all morning long without a break or working 12-hour days.
You know what does help you get more done? According to Professor K. Anders Ericsson of Florida State University, the best strategy for maximizing your productivity is to work in 90-minute intervals. Beyond that, you run out of oomph, your mind wanders, and before you know it, you’re futzing around online or grabbing a goody.
As a seller, your success depends on your thinking, ideas, skills, and insights. You need to be mentally agile, all day long.
That’s tough to do when our workaholic culture tells us that burning the midnight oil is what it takes to get ahead. But your body is physically incapable of delivering peak performance when you’re pooped. Refueling your fire is even more essential when learning so many new things. Here are three strategies you can use to keep yourself sharp and avoid burnout:
Get off your butt. Your body craves movement—and so does your mind. In fact, your brain actually works best when you’re not actively thinking. Wander around your office. Walk the stairs. Go stretch somewhere. Get outside if you can, even if it’s only for a short period of time. And take time to exercise at least three times per week for an hour. You will feel so much better and your brain will have an opportunity to rest and recalibrate, as well.
Do something fun. This isn’t a joke. Talk to your colleagues. Play some games. Give a friend a call. After 15 minutes or so, return to the task at hand. When you’re refreshed, you’ll assimilate all that new information faster and will be able to rapidly improve your skills.
Get more sleep. If you’re getting less than seven hours of sleep each night, your memory circuits are not operating at full strength. Your performance can be significantly improved by sleeping eight or more hours nightly. If you have a home office, you might even consider taking a midday nap.
Detach from devices. It’s hard when they’re your lifelines, but shutting down during breaks, evenings, and weekends gives us a real breather. Turn off your cell phone for a period of time. At a minimum, don’t check e-mail. Before you say it’s impossible, give it a try. Even a couple hours of unconnected time is enough to renew your energy.
The chronic stress of overwork is debilitating and, it turns out, probably counterproductive. Several years ago, I read that French workers who put in 36-hour weeks were more productive than Americans who averaged 50-plus hours per week. Imagine that: Long hours and high stress levels do not equate to getting more done.
Take time each day to refuel your fire. When you do this, you increase your productivity. You’ll be laser focused and better able to handle the ups and downs of your job.
Manage your energy daily to perform at optimal levels.
Reprinted from “AGILE SELLING: Get Up to Speed Quickly in Today’s Ever-Changing Sales World” by Jill Konrath with permission of Portfolio, a member of Penguin Group (USA) LLC, A Penguin Random House Company. Copyright (c) Jill Konrath, 2014. For more information, visit: http://www.amazon.com/Agile-Selling-Quickly-Todays-Ever-Changing/dp/1591847257/ref=tmm_hrd_title_0
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/agile-selling-jill-konrath/1117334471?ean=9781591847250
http://www.booksamillion.com/p/Agile-Selling/Jill-Konrath/9781480586642?id=5963791158262
Jill Konrath is a sales strategist whose clients include IBM, Microsoft, Accenture, Staples, and Hilton. She is a frequent conference speaker, and her previous books include “Selling to Big Companies,” which was named one of Fortune’s “Must Reads” for sellers, and “SNAP Selling.”
