In the battleground of our work-time, client deadlines tend to naturally take priority. It is always easy to justify this: clients are the lifeblood of the business, it costs a lot to replace even a difficult client, our career-prospects are often client-related and we must deliver what we promise... right?

But what is the price of neglecting our promises to ourselves?

Delivery will always take priority over development. This is particularly true of marketing and business-development, which is easily supplanted by a looming client deadline. What can be done to prevent this?

Here are the top three things that have consistently made the biggest difference to the 350+ people I have worked with over the past five years:

a) Zoning the diary

Like a cuckoo in the nest, a big project (or high priority) naturally takes all available attention and displaces all the other birds. If we are to make sustained headway with business-development, it is imperative to change this habit.

To do this, we must start to protect a few hours, a half-day, ideally a full day every week for business development.

If we don’t do this, we may simply be indulging in wishful thinking. If we are not willing to make ourselves “client no. 1”, then every other clients will easily take priority.

Who is going to complain if you miss a promise made to yourself?

b) Planning our planning time

In Stephen Covey’s language, planning in always a “Quadrant II activity.”. It is important but not urgent. Therefore it must go into our diary for the weeks, months, quarters and year ahead … or it will not consistently happen.

And if not, we are even more likely to lose track of our development priorities.

c) Working to a Top Three

Faced with a lengthening task list and inbox, it is easy to become overwhelmed. When we get swamped we become more stressed, more anxious, less creative, less focused. As a result we (eventually) become less productive.

By identifying a “top three” every day, we become more anchored and more focused. We also enjoy a great sense of control and fulfilment, simply because we are more likely to get the “top three” done than an entire list of twenty.

(For a copy of “100 Tips to Find More Time”, email TCTIPS@success121.com)

For consultants, the roots of lead-generation lie as much in time-management as in marketing tactics. In the forthcoming Top Consultant course (see below) we will therefore address “getting our own attention” as well as that of the market.

Tick. That’s one of my top three done for today. It’s 8.35am. Only two to go... the rest of the task list is a “bonus”

Related event: John Niland will be presenting at the consultants' seminar "A steady stream of warm client leads – guaranteed!"