One of the most appealing aspects of this business for most real estate sales professionals is the opportunity to work from home.
However, this can be both a blessing and a curse.
Having a home office certainly has its advantages. But there are a lot of distractions, too. Distractions that can torpedo your productivity and prevent you from actually logging into your real estate contact management software and getting work done! Think of all the wonderful things that are close by when you work at home: the kids, the television, the refrigerator. It’s very easy to get easily sidetracked.
“My home office is on the main floor,” says J.B, a real estate agent inToronto. “I went in the kitchen to make myself a coffee and, before I realized it, I was putting away some dishes, wiping off the countertops, and flipping through the paper. A five minute coffee break turned into a half an hour!”
So how do you avoid the built-in distractions of a home office so that you can get your work done?
Here are some tips that’ll help you increase your productivity as a real estate agent working from home:
1. Keep office hours. If you plan to work from 1pm to 4pm in your home office, don’t do anything else but work.
2. Set the rules. Make sure everyone in the family understands that when you’re working, you cannot be disturbed.
3. Don’t juggle. Avoid trying to make dinner and follow up on real estate leads at the same time. Keep home stuff separate from work stuff.
4. Be disciplined. Your house is filled with tempting diversions, especially when you have work to do. Just remember that the more productive you are in your home office, the more time you have for family, home, and hobbies later on.
5. Stock up. Make sure you have plenty of supplies, such as forms, paper, printer ink cartridges, etc. Nothing kills home office productivity quite like running out of something obvious, like paperclips.
Takeaway point. Always remember that the most important word in “home office” is office.
What’s one productivity or time-management tip you can share? Please leave a comment below! I might just pick a lucky commenter to win a special gift from IXACT Contact 
IXACT Contact helps you build lasting relationships with past clients, hot prospects, and important referral sources, keep in touch with clients the right way, generate high quality new leads, and manage the transaction side of your business, keeping you organized and in control.
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