Every sales leader I know says the same thing.
“I just don’t have enough time.”
Honestly…you’re probably right.
Between one-on-ones, forecast meetings, leadership meetings, customer escalations, Slack messages, emails, recruiting, coaching, reports, and the ten “quick questions” before lunch…
Your calendar belongs to everyone else.
Or does it?
One of my favorite LYNNSIGHTs is:
The two things you can completely control in sales are how you spend your time and your attitude, choose wisely.
Notice I didn’t say you control your calendar.
You don’t, at least not 100%. Inside sales leaders live in a world where priorities shift by the hour.
The challenge isn’t eliminating interruptions.
The challenge is deciding which interruptions deserve your attention.
Stop confusing busy with leadership.
Many leaders spend their day reacting, it feels like they don’t have a choice. I’d challenge you always have a choice.
If I looked at your calendar from last week, would I see a leader developing people…
…or someone trapped in everyone else’s emergencies?
One of the biggest themes in Mastering Inside Sales Leadership is that if you don’t intentionally decide your priorities, someone else will decide them for you. Leadership isn’t about squeezing more into your day. It’s about making sure your time reflects what matters most.
Three ways to regain control.
1. Solidify your priorities.
Before opening email… Before checking Slack… Before looking at your CRM…
Ask yourself:
What three things would make today successful if everything else blew up?
Those become your anchors. Everything else gets evaluated against them.
2. Use BURSTfocus®
I created BURSTfocus® because most leaders don’t need another productivity app.
They need permission to focus. Consider this your permission! Don’t only block time, also be sure to leave white space between meetings because leadership is unpredictable.
If every minute is scheduled, you’ve left yourself nowhere to fit in the moment by moment shifts in a full day.
3. Stop doing what steals your attention.
This one hit me recently. When I’m waiting somewhere, I either read or play a game on my phone.
Except I noticed the game had escaped the waiting room.
I was playing because I was bored. Five minutes here. Ten minutes there. Then wondering where my focus went.
So I moved the app to another screen.
It sounds silly.
Those extra few seconds make me stop and think: “Is this really how I want to spend this moment?”
Most of us don’t lose our day in one giant distraction, we lose it one tiny moment at a time.
Leadership Challenge
This week, don’t try to manage every minute.
Manage your priorities.
Leave room for the unexpected.
Protect the work only you can do.
Choose wisely.