What’s the biggest obstacle to building momentum as a seller? I believe it’s how we structure our day. Or honestly, how we don’t.

I notice a lot of reps will pick up the phone and they'll have a few conversations. And then they'll go have a drink of coffee and then they'll go pick up the phone again. And then they'll go in the CRM and then they'll pick up the phone. And then they'll see a LinkedIn comment and then they'll lose themselves in the feed for 17 minutes. And so on.

It’s a really vicious cycle of context-switching and it doesn’t allow you to do your best work. Psychological research shows context-switching is the enemy of focus. Dr. David Meyer, a researcher, says “even brief mental blocks created by shifting between tasks can cost as much as 40 percent of someone's productive time.”

Add up the Slack messages (and that nightmarish notification sound), team calls, and the endless barrage of social media… it’s no wonder it can feel hard to sustain momentum, let alone get started.

What follows is a simple structure I use to set up my prospecting efforts each day and week.