Time Management Sucks: Victoria Fifield

Ok, now that we’ve gotten that off our chests…

Embracing a few time management principles IS the key to getting your business from point A to point B. However, it is also the #1 most dreaded, overlooked and ignored principle by entrepreneurs from all different types of industries. So how does anyone ever get from a mindset of dreading time management to actually digging it?

I recall when I first started coaching, a client of mine took my task to him to, “Schedule his day out ahead of time” and he assigned it to his “Someday Maybe” folder in Outlook! That pretty much summed up the mindset that I would personally encounter with the majority of my Mortgage and Real Estate clients going forward in my career. It also pin-pointed to me exactly which “pain” I had to help coach my clients through right out of the gates in order to move them forward in their businesses.

Now I have met some phenomenal, almost super human, time management gurus, but what I have found is that the vast majority of the population simply cannot envision themselves as ever being as well organized, as calendar-savvy or really even as THAT interested as these time management loving types seem to be. And here’s the thing…if you can’t envision it, you won’t connect with it and if you can’t connect with it, you’ll likely stick it in your “Someday Never” folder!

Time management does not have to be the three headed monster that you may have been imagining, nor do you need to become a calendar junkie in order to see some positive movement in your level of efficiency and effectiveness every day. Indulge me just for a minute by playing the, “What if” game. Ask yourself the following “What if” questions and then immediately subscribe a picture in your mind before moving on to the next one:

• What if I knew my weeks would end with more victories?
• What if I felt in control and focused every day?
• What if I was more effective with my team?
• What if I planned more and reacted less?
• What if I spent more time with my family?

Is it really worth missing out on all of those things and feelings you just imagined? The real truth is that what you envisioned is truly attainable, but not if you aren’t willing to do things differently, in order to gain different results.

Did you know that many entrepreneurs aren’t planning, organizing and using their calendars due to a subconscious avoidance to doing the, “tough stuff” like prospecting and selling? Not YOU, of course, but I’m sure you have a friend, right? 

Like anything we want to change, we first must recognize and admit to the fear that is holding us back. If you don’t admit to having a problem, how are you ever going to fix it? The second step is to give yourself a visual reminder, one that you can’t avoid like setting the scrolling banner option on your PC to read, “Spending 20min to plan out my day will save me 3 hours of wasted time.” Or writing this same message on a white board strategically placed in your office. It may sound trivial, but the mind works in mysterious ways and you are just going to have to trust me on this one. And finally, as a third step to sloughing one of the three heads of your time management dragon, commit to using one calendar and entering the following time-block items each week:

• Your chosen block of time for client appts (Key: instead of asking clients when they are available to meet or be called back, immediately offer times that you have available and let them choose)
• Your chosen block of time for file review (Key: mornings are the best time for this so that you know where your “hot potatoes” are going to be in your day)
• Your chosen block of time for calling past customers & referral business partners (Key: don’t overcomplicate this. It could be just a check-in call, a call to have coffee, sharing an idea, giving happy birthday wishes, etc.

So here it is in a nutshell:

1. Admit to the fear (whatever that is for YOU)
2. Give yourself a visual reminder
3. Set recurring time-blocks into your calendar (You can do all three of the suggestions above, or just start off with one until you find that you are consistently sticking with it and then move on to the next)

Easy-cheesy! Yes, say it out loud…THIS IS GOING TO BE EASY-CHEESY!

MEET THE GUEST WRITER: Victoria Fifield

Victoria Fifield began her business coaching career in 2006, following years of experience in corporate America where she managed and trained for a variety of companies, including Fortune 100’s such as General Electric and Honeywell International and Medtronic, Inc..

Coach Victoria Fifield has successfully coached hundreds of Mortgage industry leaders from all over the country and at various stages in their careers, whose needs have ranged from systems implementation, business plan development, team building, marketing and customer service platform improvements to accountability, time management and life balance concerns.

Victoria has become known in the mortgage industry for her creative approaches to business development, project implementation, her strong accountability skills and ability to gain impressive, long-standing results from her mortgage coaching clients.

Coach Victoria has shared her unique mortgage business planning strategies as a keynote speaker at mortgage sales rallies around the country and has been selected as a, “Business Coach of Choice“ for top producers at Corridor Mortgage Group, Caliber Home Loans, Mortgage Network, Highlands Residential Mortgage, Supreme Lending, Universal Lending and Thrive Mortgage just to name a few.

“My passion is working one-on-one with highly motivated mortgage professionals to develop their business vision, define their goals, take action and build strong foundations to ensure their continued success.”

–Victoria Fifield