As insurance producers, we’re focused on productivity at work and its influence on the bottom line. How to do more in less time. How to spend more time selling and less time in busy work. How to pack more in your day.
Can you resonate with this? You set your alarm 45 minutes early to get in a quick jog, because you haven’t run yet this week. You skip breakfast and grab a cup of joe-to-go to arrive a little early at the office, to prepare for a 9 a.m. meeting. After your part of the presentation, you listen with half an ear, and as the meeting drones on you multitask on your smartphone, busily reading/answering emails that’ve languished too long in your inbox. You try to power through the day, but its distractions such as constant email alerts, phone calls and co-workers continually sidetrack you. Then you answer more emails in between client and prospect visits in the afternoon, rushing home to finish a chore or two and enjoy the kids a bit. What would you give for an extra couple of hours in your day?
Unlike a certain superhero, there’s no magical way to slow time down for everyone else so that you can speed up. And we can’t actually guarantee that you can pack 10 hours into an eight-hour work day. But there are a number of tactics you can use to boost your efficiency, and we scoured the Internet to bring you what we’re calling the top insurance agent productivity hacks.
First off, know your?Circadian rhythm?and work accordingly: if you’re an early bird (mornings are easy for you, but you head for bed around 10 p.m.), then tackle your toughest projects in the morning. Save easier tasks for after 3 p.m. If you’re a night owl (mornings are tough, but you’re still going at midnight), then start your day with easier tasks; after lunch, dig in to do your deepest work. You’ll need to be careful to protect that post-lunch time, though – because it’s easy to let simpler tasks creep in and consume that time.
- Live by your to-do list.?Start and end your day by updating your to-do list. By nature I’m a list-maker, and having a running list where I check things off and add to it dispels that low-grade worry that something’s falling into the black hole of forgetfulness. Update your list at the end of the day; every morning, consult the list, prioritize and roughly schedule when you’ll start and complete the day’s tasks. Complete your highest priorities – or your hardest tasks – first. Get ’em over with while you’re fresh.
- Manage interruptions.?When new tasks come in, decide right away where they fit in your priority list and schedule them. Resist the urge to tackle them right now. Stick to your list.
- Dig in.?In the midst of a tough project? Use a pair of noise-cancelling headphones, put your phone on Do Not Disturb and turn off email notifications. Close your door. If you have a cubicle, string an “I’m on deadline. Do not disturb until 3 p.m.” sign across your entrance.
- Take a break.?Schedule email and phone “breaks”. Don’t allow email or calls to sidetrack you; instead, schedule in regular breaks, and only reply to messages at that time. This also gives your brain a rest from the in-depth, heavy-thinking project by doing lighter tasks, such as email responses.
- Get out of the zone.?Find yourself zoning out? Then set aside that task for now, take a message break, or get a drink and go for a five-minute walk. Limit your break time – and get back to the task.
- Avoid unnecessary meetings.?As Sun Tzu said, “Pick your battles” – and your meetings. Learn to say, “That one doesn’t have my name on it.”
- Insist that meetings have agendas.?A lot of time is wasted without agendas, so insist that one is prepared and sent out ahead of time, allowing participants to be prepared. This will help you cut down on future meetings.
- Schedule meetings back-to-back.?That way, they can’t run over, encroaching on more of your time.
- Find helpful apps.?Here are a few to get you thinking:
- RescueTime.?Not sure exactly where you’re wasting time, and need help tracking your day? This tool will do all that plus more.
- Turn off email notifications.?In?Gmail,?click the gear icon and choose “Settings.” In the “General” tab, scroll down to the “Desktop Notifications” section and select “Mail notifications off.” Then click “Save Changes” at the bottom of the page. Worried about missing an important email? Select “Important mail notifications on” and Gmail will notify you for emails it thinks are important to you based on past activity. In?Outlook, from the “Tools” menu, click “Options.” Open the “Preferences” tab and click “E-mail Options,” then “Advanced E-mail Options.” Under “When new items arrive in my Inbox,” clear the “Display a New Mail Desktop Alert (default Inbox only) check box.
- BlockSite.” If you’re on Gmail, this Chrome extension will actually block your email (and any other websites you choose) during specific times you choose.
- StayFocusd. Another Google Chrome extension, this one helps you manage distractions from other websites. You know, when you begin a search for info on a prospective client and then an hour later, you’ve forgotten what you were looking for in the first place – AND wasted an hour? This extension will block those websites (LinkedIn, Facebook and other time-suckers) after a certain period of time and send you a pop-up: “SHOULDN’T YOU BE WORKING?”
- Block out the noise.?This is critical for those of us in a cubicle, because conversations going on around us are the great distracters. Some swear by noise-cancelling headphones and instrumental music (no singing – that’s distracting, too!), or grabbing your laptop and heading into a vacant office or conference room to concentrate; others come in early or stay late for extra quiet time.
- Take care of yourself.?You know the benefits to getting a good night’s sleep, exercising and eating healthy. So, like Nike says, “Just do it.” You’ll be amazed at how much more productive you are if you don’t experience sugar crashes, and if you get out for a walk at lunch or on quick breaks so that you give your brain a rest and your muscles a mini-workout. Those quick walks recharge you by increasing blood flow to the brain – and who doesn’t need that!?
There you go: our best ideas from across the Internet being more productive as an insurance agent. We know – you’re way too busy to enact all of these. That’s ok – don’t try to swallow the elephant in one bite. Start out with just a couple of improvements, then add more as you go along.
Your turn:?What has been the most time-saving tip for you as an insurance producer?
