It’s in the implementation
Following our workshops, delegates leave with a great desire to implement the core course concepts. However, execution is often the missing link between aspiration and results.
Introduction to Plan-Do-Review
Plan-Do-Review or PDR is the fundamental life management tool to transform concepts from the sales-mind programme into an actionable plan. Plan do review adds massive value to our effectiveness in our personal and professional life.
Setting a meeting with yourself
It requires making a recurring 30min weekly meeting with yourself; we would suggest every Friday morning before you start the workday. We would also suggest taking it off-site a local costa, for example, other brands coffee shop are available! If you cant, go off-site can you seconder a meeting room?
Identify your sub-roles
Start by breaking down your job into sub-roles:
Examples could be:
- New Business Developer
- Account Manager
- Self-Developer
- Team Player
- Communications Manager
You can also do this with life aspects outside the workplace:
- Father
- Wife
- Musician
- Volunteer
- Hobbyist
Plan
Turn your phone and any tech alerts off!
Put the big rocks in first
Evaluate what the ‘big rocks’ for each of our roles, (important but not urgent activities) are. The ones that would have the most significant positive impact on our effectiveness if we started to do them or did more of them.
Schedule everything. Tear up the to-do list!
Put these into our schedule (not on a to-do list!) as if they are internal or external meetings. Be detailed about the description of the task. For example, putting in prospecting is too flaxy. Cold calling on our SME marketing database in the EX1 postcode is much better. Make sure that during the planning phase, all supporting resources have been identified and are available to execute the task.
Do
Use the Pomodoro technique
Our job now is to execute our plan.
Use the Pomodoro technique: Get rid of all distractions and set a timer for 25-45 minutes, work on the task until the timer rings, tick it on your weekly plan, take a short 5-10 minute break away from what you’ve just done.
What about the distractions
The afternoon knows what the morning never suspected. Show integrity to your weekly plan. If something genuinely important and urgent crops up, as it sometimes does, then respond to it. Challenge ourselves on this, is it really urgent and important, or are we making excuses? Because what we planned is too hard or difficult? Also be aware that executing planned work that is not urgent but important will feel different, as it doesn’t have the same urgency buzz. Do not let the important become a victim of the urgent. Executing to plan requires self-awareness and steely self-discipline.
Manage email, don’t let it manage you!
A note on email: To avoid multitasking and to react to every email alert as and when they arrive, plan in two to three Pomodoros during the day solely to focus on managing incoming emails.
The 2 min rule
If you can answer the email in 2 mins, do it there and then. If not schedule it or delete it.
Review
Become a great coach to yourself
Asking ourselves the following questions allows us to make a week on week improvements:
- What worked well?
- What didn’t work so well?
- What should I do more of or start?
- What should I do less of or stop doing?
Giving success the best chance
The plan do review process provides us with the best possible opportunity of identifying and executing the work that will afford success being the natural output of the work we put in.
