Time management, made easier

As a busy insurance professional, you have a lot of demands on your time. And there’s only so much time in each day and week to work on your to-do list. How do you handle the time you have to run your insurance business? Here are some ways to better manage the time you have to serve your customers and manage your agency.

Review your upcoming week. Take time the night before the start of your week to review your commitments, responsibilities and ultimately your to-do list. This will help you map out your week, prioritize tasks and organize your days to work best for you.

Set daily, weekly and monthly goals. Not everything on your list is a pressing priority. Make sure you are setting goals that take into account what needs to be accomplished, what can have a longer timeline, what could be taken off your to-do list, and even what can be delegated to someone else.

Use time management tools that fit you and your business. It is hard to remember all you have to do without using time management tools. It’s important to find resources on and/or offline that you enjoy using. For some, it can be an app on a device. For others, it is still pen and paper, notepads and a planner.

Be realistic with your time. You may feel you have time to fit in one more thing during the day, but it is important to honestly look at your availability to determine what you really can fit in. This includes creating buffer times for unexpected ways your time is used.

Stop multitasking. Studies show that multitasking doesn’t help us accomplish more — it often reduces our productivity and the quality of work because our minds are designed to focus on only one thing at a time.

Use your time effectively. We all have ideal times when we are more productive. You may find that is early morning, afternoon or evening. There is nothing worse than trying to force yourself to start or finish something when it just isn’t within an ideal working time for you. Schedule the most important tasks when you’re at your best and most alert and productive.

Carve out time for business development and prospecting. Whether it’s a set amount of time each day or week. it’s important to set aside to market yourself and your insurance business and explore ways to grow your agency. If you don’t add it to your schedule, it’s too easy to put it off.

Set aside time for office/administrative tasks. Make sure you’re setting aside time to keep up with all of the work required to run an insurance business.

Hire help. You may find that there simply isn’t enough time in each day or week to do everything you need to do well. If so, it could be time to hire additional help.

If you feel your time is slipping away, record your activities for a day or two. This can give you an idea of how you are using your time and if you’re spending too much time on things that don’t really matter.