September means Again to Fundamentals right here at Inman. As actual property navigates the post-settlement period with new fee guidelines, actual property professionals from throughout the nation will share what’s working for them, how they’ve advanced their methods and instruments, and the place they’re investing personally.
Let’s face it — when you don’t management your schedule in actual property, it should management you. For those who’re wishing for extra time for a trip and even two days off in a row, right here’s a listing of confirmed methods that can assist you create extra time in your schedule, enhance your productiveness, and enhance your well-being.
6 time administration myths
In the case of creating extra time in your busy schedule, listed below are six time administration myths that may block your success.
Fantasy 1: I can handle time.
There’s no such factor as “time management.” All of us have the identical 24 hours per day.
Reality: You possibly can solely handle your self and the alternatives you make about the way you spend your time.
Fantasy 2: I should be obtainable 24/7 to achieve success.
Brokers who really feel they should be obtainable 24/7 are afraid they are going to lose the shopper relationship until they’re obtainable at a second’s discover.
Reality: The largest criticism shoppers have about their actual property brokers is that they fail to remain in contact, not that they should be obtainable 24/7 on a second’s discover. To keep away from this situation, be proactive about staying in contact along with your shoppers by reaching out to them a minimal of three to 5 occasions per week. Additionally, it’s necessary to ask your shoppers their most well-liked manner of staying in contact with them: textual content, e mail, cellphone or social media.
Fantasy 3: I’m the one one who can do it.
For those who make greater than minimal wage promoting actual property and also you’re doing minimal wage jobs, similar to filling brochure packing containers, selecting up keys, going to the put up workplace, and so forth., otherwise you’re not utilizing a transaction coordinator, you’re doing a poor job of utilizing your time correctly.
Reality: Delegating these chores frees up your schedule to generate extra leads, deal with extra shoppers and take extra day off.
Fantasy 4: I can’t afford to take day off.
Whenever you’re working on adrenaline and completely stressed, your life can spin uncontrolled. It’s possible you’ll be stopped for dashing, have an accident, provoke an argument with a shopper or turn out to be ailing. When your life is in chaos, additionally, you will entice shoppers and conditions which are chaotic as effectively.
Reality: You possibly can’t afford to not take day off. To interrupt this cycle, take a minimal of sooner or later per week off and at the very least one weekend a month. If you’re fearful about being obtainable for emergencies, pair up with one other agent you belief and canopy for one another in your days off.
Fantasy 5: Taking day off will trigger my enterprise to lower.
Surprisingly, the precise reverse is true. Have you ever ever seen that the second you propose a trip (create plenty of area in your schedule), your corporation instantly will increase? Creating area means that you can entice extra enterprise. When your schedule is jam-packed, you lack area for brand new enterprise to seem.
Reality: To create extra space in your corporation, clear your schedule for a trip, clear your closet, clear your desk, clear your storage, and so forth.
Fantasy 6: I can’t dwell with out my cellphone.
Chances are high your mobile phone is making you much less environment friendly. Every time you interrupt one other exercise to reply a name, reply to a textual content or learn a notification, it could actually take as much as 20 minutes to regain your focus. Even worse, when you do that once you’re with shoppers, you ship a nonverbal message they don’t seem to be as necessary as your incoming name, textual content or notification.
Reality: To interrupt this sample, do this experiment for one week. Place your cellphone in airplane mode if you find yourself prospecting, working with shoppers, at household meals or some other necessary private time. After you end, take your cellphone off airplane mode and deal with any calls, messages or emails that it’s good to handle.
10 extra time effectivity methods
To release extra of your time, use any of the ten time effectivity ideas under.
Technique 1: Consciousness
To extend your consciousness, start by monitoring the place you spend your time. Keep away from making an attempt to alter something. As a substitute, merely write down the way you spent your time every day on numerous actions. Use your pc or your appointment guide for monitoring.
Particularly, for the subsequent week, report how a lot time you spend on lead era, appointments, dealing with transaction issues, household time, private time, commuting, chores, and so forth.
Additionally, monitor how a lot time you spend enjoying pc video games, coping with interruptions to your work as a result of non-work-related calls or texts, and posting or scrolling on social media and apps. Most individuals miss how pricey these refined time-wasters may be.
Now, whole up how a lot time you spent on your corporation and devoted private time and the way a lot time you wasted that may very well be put to raised use.
Technique 2: Attempt the 80-20 experiment for one month
Start by dividing a bit of paper into 4 quadrants after which coming into the next info.
- Within the higher left quadrant, place the actions that you simply like to do and which are worthwhile. Dedicate about 80 p.c of your time to the actions on this quadrant.
- Within the higher proper quadrant, place the actions that you simply hate to do however are worthwhile. (This may very well be holding an open home, door knocking, and so forth.)
- Within the decrease left quadrant, listing what you get pleasure from doing however is just not worthwhile. This might embrace attending networking occasions or spending time doing social media posts that don’t produce outcomes.
- Within the decrease proper quadrant, report the unprofitable actions you hate doing.
The 80-20 rule tells us that the highest 20 p.c of our actions are chargeable for 80 p.c of our outcomes. Consequently, spend as a lot time as attainable on the actions within the higher left quadrant and keep away from the “below the line” actions for the subsequent month.
By way of the “hate to do, but profitable” quadrant, you’ve three choices. Delegate them by taking a associate, rent an in workplace or digital assistant, or drive your self to do the exercise anyway. Once more, until you made lower than minimal wage in promoting actual property, delegate as many minimal wage actions as attainable.
On the finish of the month, examine your manufacturing, private day off, and stress degree to the previous month. They need to be dramatically higher.
Technique 3: Deal with finishing your prime 3 enterprise and private motion objects each day
Slightly than reacting to those that make calls for in your time, establish the highest three duties that can have the largest impression on your corporation, similar to securing a brand new itemizing, closing a deal, or following up on a sizzling lead — and be sure to deal with these objects first.
Additionally apply the identical method to your private life, whether or not it’s a household dinner, unwinding with a glass of wine and an incredible guide, or attending soccer recreation along with your children or grandkids, these breaks really make you extra productive once you return to work.
Technique 4: Saying ‘yes’ to saying no
The stress to be obtainable 24/7 can result in burnout and inefficiency. Consequently, it’s necessary to guard your time. Brokers generally waste beneficial time on unimportant duties as a result of their incapability to say “No.” Simply because a state of affairs is a precedence or pressing for another person doesn’t imply it’s best to alter your priorities.
For instance, when you’ve got a household dinner deliberate for tonight and a purchaser’s agent is urgent you to do a displaying, merely say, “No.” As my husband, who’s a enterprise and private coach, likes to say, “No is a complete sentence.” No justification is critical.
If the pushy agent continues to press you, merely say, “I’ve a conflicting appointment. I can do the displaying tomorrow at 10 a.m. or 5 p.m. Which works greatest for you?
Studying to say no helps you regain management over your schedule and offers you extra time for each work and your private life.
Technique 5: Use the 2-minute rule
If a process may be accomplished in two minutes or much less, similar to replying to a fast e mail or confirming a displaying, do it instantly. This retains your to-do listing from changing into cluttered with minor duties whereas permitting you to focus in your highest-priority objects. By dealing with these fast duties on the spot, you save time by not having to circle again to finish the duty later.
Technique 6: Apply the ‘Pomodoro’ approach: 25-minute bursts coupled with 5-minute breaks
Fixed interruptions by our shoppers and colleagues and surprising points usually make it arduous to remain on monitor. By setting particular time blocks for duties similar to prospecting, shopper follow-ups and paperwork, it’s a lot simpler to keep away from changing into distracted.
Within the late Nineteen Eighties, Francesco Cirillo created the Pomodoro approach that over 2 million individuals have used.
Right here’s what to do:
- Establish the duty you need to work on.
- Set a timer for 25 minutes.
- When the timer stops, take a 5-minute break.
- After 4 classes, take a 15 to 30-minute break.
- The lively working time is named Pomodoros.
Setting the timer creates urgency, however the time-block (pomodoro) is brief sufficient to handle simply. It additionally creates a singular focus that eliminates multitasking and minimizes the variety of distractions you expertise.
Technique 7: Group related duties collectively
Grouping related duties collectively, similar to scheduling all shopper conferences in a single afternoon or making all follow-up calls in a single session, reduces the psychological load of regularly switching gears. This technique is especially helpful in actual property, the place multitasking can simply result in errors.
Grouping related duties collectively will scale back the period of time required to finish every process. For instance, when you should run errands, time-block them collectively so you are able to do them in a single journey or do all of your comply with up or prospecting calls in a single sitting.
Technique 8: ‘Eat that Frog’
Brian Tracy’s Eat that Frog! is a traditional guide on learn how to overcome procrastination. In the case of your actual property enterprise, the “frog,” is the largest, ugliest process of the day. Do this first, and get it out of the best way.
Technique 9: Incorporate buffer time between duties
In actual property, surprising emergencies and shopper calls for can simply disrupt your day. Incorporating buffer time between duties means that you can deal with these interruptions with out derailing your complete schedule. This further time additionally gives a possibility to decompress and refocus, decreasing stress and stopping burnout. By planning for the surprising, you possibly can preserve management over your day and be certain that your necessary duties nonetheless get accomplished.
Technique 10: Use the 4-3-2-1 method to schedule your private day off
Whenever you plan your schedule for the month, schedule your private day off first and deal with it as being as necessary as happening an inventory appointment.
To do that, schedule:
- 4 weekend days off every month.
- Three nights every week the place you’ve time for a leisurely dinner and night with family members.
- Two days every month the place you’re taking a full day to spend time with associates or household.
- No less than sooner or later completely for your self, the place you play golf, get a therapeutic massage or do no matter is critical to flee from the enterprise for a day.
The key to creating extra time once you haven’t any is to ditch the six time administration myths that maintain you again after which select which confirmed methods above you need to apply in your corporation and private life — the extra you apply the extra productive you may be. And meaning the extra time you’ll have for you and your family members.
Bernice Ross, president and CEO of BrokerageUP and RealEstateCoach.com, and the founding father of RealEstateWealthForWomen.com is a nationwide speaker, writer and coach with over 1,500 printed articles.
