Your days are undoubtedly filled with lots of deadlines and to-do lists, and deciding what to do when is probably a challenge. But if you spend just 20 minutes each Monday morning on LinkedIn, you can reap big rewards. Blue Monday? Meeting marked on calendar at start of weekPencil it into your weekly calendar like any other meeting--and it may become the most productive "meeting" of your week.
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5 simple tasks that lead to results

These tasks are quick, easy, and sure to help you grow an impressive network that will lead to business and career success.

1.  Review Who's Viewed Your Profile, and reach out to the people you should be connecting with or meeting [4 minutes].

When someone takes a look at your profile, it's like walking into your store; so be sure to reach out and ask the person how you might be able to help him/her. Read "Are You Taking Advantage of the Top Rated LinkedIn Feature?" for more information about how to maximize the Who's Viewed Your Profile feature.

2.  Send customized invitations to join your LinkedIn network to people you met (in person or on the phone) during the previous work week [4 minutes].

Improving your search ranking on LinkedIn is all about connections, especially the right ones, and people you have already met are spot on.

To get the inside scoop on adding gas (connections) to your LinkedIn tank, be sure to read "The LinkedIn Connections Conundrum: Who Should be in Your Network?" 

3.  Review and respond to your pending inbound invitations to connect on LinkedIn [3 minutes].Screen Shot 2016-06-10 at 2.24.03 PM

Because of changes to the messaging system that took place last fall, you may be missing important information from someone if you don't purposefully and methodically review the invitations that are coming into your account. For more details, read "Is Opportunity Knocking on Your LinkedIn Door?"

4.  Investigate people who show up in your saved search results [6 minutes].

Once you have LinkedIn delivering to your doorstep your well-defined target list each week, it's your job to figure out, based on the information you can gather from their profiles, what might be the most appropriate next step. This might set you up for some of the most productive traditional meetings and phone calls of your week.

5.  Post a great thought-provoking, educational status update [3 minutes].Screen Shot 2016-06-23 at 9.28.56 AM

Simply put, this is the best marketing feature on LinkedIn. After all, you'll be communicating with your handpicked audience (your connections). And if you don't talk to them, your competitors will be happy to share helpful information with them (many of whom are your customers and potential customers). Follow the 6/3/1 rule to play this part of the LinkedIn game correctly.

For more suggestions on how to manage your LinkedIn account on a daily, weekly, monthly, and periodic basis, check out Chapter 19 of the newest edition of my bestselling LinkedIn book," Ready...Set...Go! A Six-Week, Two-Hour-Per-Week Road Map to Results."