Many sales trainers talk about utilizing time management philosophy and techniques in order to maximize your productivity. But Anthony Signorelli begs to differ.
Time management doesn't work, he said, because the far more important work of aligning with real values and interests hasn't been done. "Time management techniques become a replacement for the hard choices we all confront in our quest to live well with less work. And it does not matter what your 'work' is—the same principles apply."
Instead, Signorelli has come up with "the five new rules of personal productivity." These rules, he claims, "set up a process to help each of us streamline our activities and shave off all the wasted time in our lives—time spent doing unimportant, stupid things like answering inane e-mail, being distracted by the news of the day, or doing work that is not important and easily automated."
His five rules are:
1. Prioritize your activities so that the really important stuff comes first—in your work and in your life.
2. Eliminate time-sucking activities and habits that feel important but don't really matter.
3. Automate important but low value work.
4. Delegate and utilize virtual assistants.
5. Batch organize your work.
These rules set up a process to streamline activities and "shave off all of the wasted time in our lives—time spent doing unimportant, stupid things," says Signorelli.
