The “whirlwind”. It’s a term we hear in the agency world all the time. You and your team get so caught up in the whirlwind of the workday that you feel you are just spinning in a dozen different directions and not accomplishing as much as you would like. You realize, too late and too often, that the business is running you and your team, instead of you and your team running the business.
This is why strategic time-blocking is critical to the success of your business - and maintaining your sanity. Our Future Legacy® team is constantly helping with leaders and teams across the country to create optimal time-blocking.
In this article we share a few tips on how you and your team can tap into better performance and results by selecting the timing that works best for you. Feel free to use this in your next team meeting as a discussion guide on these topics:
It’s Switch-tasking, not Multi-tasking
Strategic Time Blocking for Optimal Performance
When’s Your Zone?
Incorporating the Quarterback Hour
It’s Switch-tasking, not Multi-tasking
Many of us believe we are great multi-taskers, and we take pride in it! Yet to be truthful, we humans don’t really multi-task, meaning we don’t do multiple things simultaneously. Rather, we switch-task; our brain switches between tasks. Admittedly, some us do a fair job of switching between tasks very quickly. We see this every day in the office. A Team Member switches from taking a payment over the phone, to greeting a customer who walks in, to answering an instant message from a teammate - all in the span of 90 seconds.
While much of a typical day and the atmosphere of an agency requires this switch-tasking, it can be very exhausting and taxing on our brain, and that reduces productivity and strategic thinking abilities. It can also make for a cranky evening at home with our families.
Switch-tasking at its essence also makes it almost impossible for us to really focus and concentrate on more intensive and complex issues or work activities, like preparing for a big life insurance appointment or researching and cleaning up a big problem for a customer.
Who all in your office feels they spend the majority of their day switching tasks?
This is why we need specific times set aside for certain tasks.
Strategic Time Blocking for Optimal Performance
Time is limited. There are only so many hours in a day. To be proactive, we need to budget out time in the most productive ways. In the same way we budget and assign our dollars to certain areas, we also need to budget and assign our minutes to certain tasks.
Over the next 3 to 5 work days, track everything you do at work. For each activity, write that activity on a post-it note. At the end of the last day, review all the post-it notes and organize them by activity. Identify those activities you should continue doing, those activities someone else should be doing, and note any activities that no longer need to be done.
Then consider 1) how much time each activity requires, 2) can activities be grouped into large time blocks, and 3) when do those time blocks and activities need to be completed. Begin to build a weekly calendar for those recurring activities and blocking your time out to accommodate those needs.
When’s Your Zone?
Are you a morning person or a night owl? Maybe you hit your groove early afternoon.
We are all created differently, and we all have certain times of the day when we are more productive. One teammate may be more productive and get better results in the morning, while another teammate hits their stride late afternoon.
Knowing when you are at your peak mentally and motivationally is critical to maximizing your performance and results. Consider working on your highly important tasks or high energy activities when YOU have the most energy and focus in the day. We encourage you to schedule your work activities with this in mind.
Ask each Team Member to identify what time of day seems to be their most productive.
Incorporating the Quarterback Hour
To ensure everyone on the team has a designated time to focus on critical work activities, consider putting into place a Quarterback Hour for each person on the team. This is a time each day when that Team Member can remove distractions and truly focus on their work. While this Team Member is in their Quarterback time, the rest of the team becomes that person’s defensive line. Their job is to protect the Quarterback from all distractions and interruptions during that hour. The key is to make sure everyone on the team gets their Quarterback time.
Consider having some discussion in your Team Meeting around these topics and see how you and your team can maximize your time and your productivity. Then let us know how it works for you!
Our FLP Coaching Team is built on 100+ years of experience training and coaching thousands of Agents and Team Members across the U.S. and Canada and we are here to serve you!
Are you curious about what we offer? In the Future Legacy Partners division we offer several programs…from private and customized coaching for leaders and/or teams, to a robust Performance Planning workshop for strategy-setting, to our comprehensive FLP Team Series for Leaders and Team Members, and more.
Wouldn’t it be worth a quick 20-minute chat by phone to explore the possibilities?
Wishing you every success and joy,
The FLP Coaching Team
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