How I Win (almost) Every Week

2/3rds of Sales people aren't hitting quota right now which means something is fundamentally broken in the system. You can't fix the system overnight, but you have more control than you think over your success. I call it "winning the week" and it stems from a basic principle outlined in the formula below:

Everyone is busy but very few are productive. It's just that simple. Not hard to understand but not easy to fix. I failed in my first job out of college because I didn't understand this. Now I know better.

I use a simple framework to help me give myself the best chance of winning every week. I started using it as an SDR at Salesforce and continue to use it as an executive and advisor. Why do I keep using it? Because it works.

Do I win every week? Hell no. But I definitely win more than I lose which ultimately is the recipe for long term success.

This process is something I do once a week to help me stack the deck in my favor. So if you want to get more control of your situation I recommend giving it a shot.

Everything is broken down in detail below. I explain what they are, why you should care, and how to do it.

It's important you follow the steps order in order for this to be effective.

Enjoy 👇

1. Practice Gratitude 

Why: Being in the right state is mandatory to do first if you’re going to setup your week. When gratitude is expressed or received it unlocks dopamine and serotonin into your bloodstream. These chemicals are directly correlated have a better outlook and view on life. 

How: Sit down with a pen and paper and set a timer for 5 minutes. You need to write down everything you’re grateful for until the timer goes off. What’s going to happen is you’ll start out with the obvious, but after about 2 minutes you’ll run into a wall. That’s a good thing. Then you’re forced to start to think of less and less obvious things. The smaller the better because it helps you start to appreciate the little things in life. 

❌REMEMBER❌ - you’re not allowed to stop till the timer goes off.

Once this is done you can move on to the second step 

2. Find Your Musts

Why: A recent study shows that nearly 2/3 of people’s time working is spent on unproductive tasks. No one cares if you’re busy. What matters is whether or not you’re productive. If I can work 4 hours a day and get the same results as you I win. Period. This is why it’s important to be intentional about what your musts are for the week ahead. Another way to think about the musts are is that they are non negotiables to get done. 

How: you’re going to need pen, paper, and a timer again. Instead of one 5 minute session you’re going to do 3 timed sessions. 

Session 1 - for 5 minutes write down all of the things on your to do list. No matter how big or small we need to get everything down. Important to remember this is for all aspects of your life. Career, family, finances, health, relationships, spiritual, etc. Don’t stop until the timer goes off. 

❌ If this list isn’t big then you didn’t write everything down. If that’s the case reset the timer and go again. 

Session 2 - now that you have the list it’s time to label what’s important. Important = if this doesn’t get done there will be negative consequences. Set the timer for 2 minutes and go through your list and label what’s important.

❌REMEMBER ❌ If everything is important then nothing is important. You must be honest with yourself when going through every item.

Session 3 - with your important list we now work need to get to the musts by figuring out what’s urgent. A simple way to think about what’s urgent is going back to the consequences you identified in the important process. Just ask the question “when will that consequence happen?” and if the answer isn’t in the next week then you can’t label it as urgent. Set a timer for 2 minutes and figure out which items are urgent.

❌Session 3 should shrink your list by ALOT. If it didn’t then you still have some work to do. 

After you’re done you should have 3 sets of items on your task lists.

1. Urgent and Important 

2. Important but not urgent 

3. Neither important or urgent 

You should think about this list in 3 ways:

1. Urgent and important - must haves 

2. Important but not urgent - nice to haves 

3. Neither important or urgent - waste of energy 

If you’ve stuck to this process you should be feeling pretty good. By prioritizing it will reduce anxiety because it helps you truly understand what you need to get done and what’s just an energy drain.

Now we move on to the last part which is where the rubber meets the road 

3. Plan and Visualize 

Why: Several studies have validated the impact of planning. Businesses that do proper planning grow 30% faster than those that don’t. You are a business whether you see it that way or not. Everything you do should be considered an input into the business of you which provides the tangible results in your life. When you’re just getting started, momentum is everything. By putting concrete plans in place you are already increasing your momentum. 

Visualization is a powerful tool because it helps you see things as you wish them to be. When you visualize something happening it stimulates the part of your brain involved in the actual doing of that thing. Another way of putting it is your brain can't tell the difference. This primes your brain to be ready to complete the task because it already has through your visualization practice. This is why visualization is widely used by the best athletes in the world. There are many techniques used in this area so I'll simply share what's worked best for me. You can give it a try to see how it works for you or you can try another technique. I don't recommend you don't try it at all simply because the best of the best in most fields practice this which means it works.

How: Here's how to get started with planning and practicing visualization.

Planning:

1. Estimate - Every item that needs to be completed on your must have list you need to estimate how much time that will take. I recommend being conservative vs overly optimistic. This will reduce the chances of you not finishing items on your list which leaves you feeling defeated at the end of the week.
2. Schedule: Once you have estimates for how long everything will take to accomplish, now you can put it on your calendar. Nothing happens unless it is prioritized with your time. Your calendar is the best tool to use to help you here. Not only does this help you get your must haves done, but it also helps protect your time from getting taken from you by others.
3. SAY NO: I call this out as a part of the planning process because old habits die hard. If you're reading this it's because you want to be more productive. This means things need to die (aka you need to say no to) in order for you to unlock the next version of yourself. Get comfortable saying no to meetings or tasks that do not directly align with your must haves. You WILL have people ask to cut into your must have time. Respectfully say no if it's not directly aligned to a must have item on your list.

Visualization:

After you schedule out your week and get everything on the calendar follow these steps:

1. Go to an area that's quiet without distractions
2. Take a few seconds to look at your calendar while taking some slow and deep relaxing breaths
3. Think about the different items your list and think about what finishing that task will like. Picture it in your mind.
4. Try to attach an emotion to the picture in your mind. How will you feel when you accomplish that task? Will it feel like a weight is lifted off you? Will you feel like a bad ass? Whatever that feeling is just sit with it a bit.

Tip on this part: Don't stress about the time required here. Everyone is different. Some people can visualize in 2 minutes and get the desired results where others need much longer. Just set aside 5-10 minutes to get started and play around with what works best for you.

FINAL THOUGHTS - This certainly requires discipline and don't worry if you screw it up at first. I was terrible at this at first so if you nail it the first time you're way ahead of me. Just remember that in order to live the life that others won't you need to do what others won't.

MY ASK OF YOU - If you found value in this here are some ideas for you

1. Do it. You only have one shot at this thing called life. What's the worst that happens? You grow and achieve more goals than you are now?
2. Repost this article to your network to share this with your colleagues, friends, or loved ones that you care deeply about and want to see achieve their goals.
3. Go to my LinkedIn Profile (link below) and hit the "follow" button and click on the bell 🛎️ so you'll be notified when I post other content.

Thank you for giving me your most precious commodity. Your time.

If you have any questions or comments please share them and I'll make sure to answer all of them for you.

Now go kick some ass!