In our last Time Management article, Challenges, I offered an overview of the obstacles between us and our efficient use of time. You also had an opportunity to track your current usage using the linked Time Analysis© spreadsheet. If you have not completed your analysis, I encourage you to do so now.
In this second article, Managing Your Time, we will look at managing the previously mentioned obstacles and create the first version of our schedule.
Overcoming Obstacles to the Efficient Use of Time
Habitual behaviors: If you completed your Time Analysis© spreadsheet, you might have noticed that one or more habitual behaviors consume much more time than you knew. Some are benign: for example, you grocery shop every other day; try running all your errands at one time in a well-defined time block during which you wouldn’t be working anyway –such as after 7 PM or 8 PM or early on a Saturday morning.
Some habitual behaviors are more insidious: do you start checking social media with your first, and then second, cup of coffee? If so, don’t. Your morning routine should only involve gratitude, affirmation, exercise, breakfast, and grooming, free of distractions.
Lack of Focus: if you have difficulty staying on task, several factors might be at play. Let’s look at them one at a time.
Accessibility: Have you made it too easy for people in your office to stop by your desk and chat? If so, it’s time to send them gently on their way. Maybe you can set lunch or coffee dates with your friends and colleagues so they don’t feel ignored, but do not allow random interruptions during your workday.
Physical Environment: Is your office conducive to work? If it’s too noisy or contains too many distractions, consider asking your broker for a more private, out-of-the-way space or work from home if you can create a disturbance-free corner there.
Lack of Boundaries: when I hire a new agent, I always ask if their family understands their work and is supportive. Because we work for ourselves outside of what others recognize as a standard framework –office hours, a job description, and a boss- it is sometimes difficult for the people closest to us to respect our work boundaries. Ensure you share your schedule and plans with family members and get their support so boundary breaching does not become an issue.
Unrealistic Expectations: unrealistic expectations for yourself or others will derail your schedule faster than a herd of buffalo sitting on the track. With the unending list of tasks that make up a day in the life of a professional Realtor®, you must learn to recognize when something is “good enough.” Perfectionism is the death of accomplishment, so do not allow yourself to expect perfection in everything you do or that others do for you.
Equally important, do not set unrealistic expectations with your customers or clients. Statements like “I am available 24/7” or “call me anytime” create unrealistic expectations in your audience and result in you disappointing them or your schedule suffering from your overcommitting. It’s perfectly OK, professional even, for you to explain that you are unavailable between 9:00 -and 11:00 a.m. as those hours are devoted to running your business.
Inefficient Systems/No Systems: we’ve all had days when technology failed us. The networks are down; the application did not save your file; a new security update has locked you out of your email; or a virus has struck the office servers. Just as critically, we may be living every day with inefficient human systems –meaning the processes that run our work environment have not been optimized since the staff came on the job sometime in the last century…Yes, I am being sarcastic or tongue-in-cheek, but I’ve been in enough real estate offices to know the extent of dysfunctionality that plagues them. These systemic issues may be challenging to tackle as they involve much more than you and your team. Start by identifying them, and if your broker cannot address them and meet your business needs, substitute inadequate office systems for systems you control.
Creating A Schedule That Works for You
Start with a Bird’s Eye View
A schedule, like a plan, is a living document. It should evolve as you figure out what works and what doesn’t, and over time, as it adapts to your business’s changing demands.
Start by looking at the whole year. For most of us, a 52-week schedule is not realistic; it is also not healthy. Ask yourself how many weeks a year you will work and block out those weeks when you plan to be on vacation or otherwise attend to other obligations. I recommend working between 46-49 weeks -or 3-6 weeks off.
Then, look at each month and block out dates you know you will not be able to work. These may be family events, health events such as an annual executive check-up, or hobby events such as competing in Iron Man. Also, calendar educational and professional events you plan to attend, whether in person, remotely, or that you will conduct as self-study.
With these identifiable blocks of time reserved, look at how many workdays are left each month. From those, block out one day off per week. I usually get a lot of pushback from my clients on identifying a weekly day off. This is especially true for my clients who work in seasonal and resort areas. But a day off is necessary because you will need to go to the bank, get your teeth cleaned, have your hair cut, and perform all the chores that are called for in real life. It would be best if you got into the habit of scheduling those on the same day of the week –your official day off.
Your Workday Routine
Once the big lines have been drawn on your schedule, please start thinking about your week and its days. The basic principle underlying any salesperson’s daily schedule is that mornings are reserved for prospecting, and afternoons are spent with clients. Around and in between that framework, you need to plug in the following tasks:
Morning rituals: gratitude, affirmations, breakfast, grooming. Your morning routine may include working out unless, like me, you like to work out at the end of the day to get a second wind. Whatever your morning rituals are, plan to be at work before the competition if you want to compete!
Marketing: whether or not you have staff is moot. You will still need time to plan your communications, market your listings, meet with your team, or meet with vendors, such as magazine advertisers and marketing technology reps.
Social media: social media is a bit of marketing, relationship building, and prospecting all rolled into one. You should give it its own time slot to defuse its potential as a great time guzzler. Because it can stretch to hours, many of my clients choose to attend to it at the end of the day, sometimes while having a glass of wine. That also ensures they do not look at it in the morning.
Administration: you are running a business, and there will be administrative tasks in your schedule. From contracts to accounting, plan on a couple of hours a week of administration to continuously improve your processes and keep administrative items -such as paying bills- from falling through the proverbial cracks.
Technology: selecting and customizing technology to fit your goals is critical. It has taken some clients years to program their CRM to do their bidding at the cost of many lost opportunities. If you add a system to your workflow, schedule time to learn, program, and use it.
On Your Mark, Get Set, Go
I’ve given you as much insight and instructions about scheduling as you can use until you sit down, fashion the hours of your day into a workable schedule, and put it into practice. Use this simple spreadsheet to create as many revisions of your weekly schedule as needed.
If I can help you better manage your time and get your schedule under control, don’t hesitate to call or text 239-220-1018 or email coco@cocoamar.com.
Happy Selling ∞
