Routines? Can they, do they exist? How big to you have to be to get routines in place and keep your business running smoothly.
Transactions running smoothly seems to be the easiest. It just that with us as real estate agents, we have so many things to do, so many variations of things to do that getting into a routine can be next to impossible.
Here is a day in the life (these are usually all 7 days)
1) Make Coffee
2) Freak Out
3) Check Hot Sheet & forward to buyer/seller as appropriate/call seller/seller's agent/ or buyer as appropriate
4) Freak out
5) Look at weed blower and think about clearing desk with it again. It would be a shame with all those nice piles.
6) Remember to send thank you's to five people
7) Call 5 people and ask for referrals
8) Follow up on 10 leads via phone to see if they can have life breathed into them and schedule appointments
9) Freak Out
10) Lunchtime - oh did I forget to eat? Run to Starbucks! Get coffee, I should have gotten 5 hours ago
11) Drive the neighborhood, look at new listings to see if they'll work for clients
12) Go into office, advertise seller's listings to all 245 of co-agents, also share buyer's needs with 245 agents to see what they have coming on the market
13) Return calls/address email/ make nice to important receptionist who holds the keys to my world. She is VERY important to me!
14) Take call from son freaking out, wants to leave school at 4pm
15) Did I eat lunch? Shoot - does Starbucks Coffee count as a meal? It is now 3pm.
16) Run across street to Sushi restaurant, get to go sushi and run back to office. See bar, be thankful it is closed. Sit sushi next to glass of untouched water. 
17) Begin first sip of first glass of 10 required glass of water.
18) Shoot across town to do a showing.
19) Forgot to pick up son... Freak out...
20) Forgot to eat lunch...
21) Call client and congratulate them on closing, deliver keys.
22) Call husband and beg to pick up son
23) Review, tweak and enhance marketing plans on listings
24) Log on to Active Rain (9pm)
25) Watch Surf while looking for more properties
26) Schedule showings
27) Eat Dinner - hey wait Did I eat Lunch Yet???
28) Think about what day I might not have to work
29) Freak Out - Go to Bed
Beyond the PERSONAL STUFF and the FREAK OUTS... Does anyone have a better way of organizing their business?
Leaving now to FREAK OUT and get my 2007 calendars sent out before 2008
;)
;)
One place you can get some great ideas on scheduling is a place called www.flylady.net.
She's all about routines (mostly for the home) - but she's got routines for the workplace as well. I'm still trying to get my routines in order and they are, by no means perfect, but I've made a start.
Do you have auto-notify on your MLS? I check the hot sheet in the morning but also have properties fitting the needs of my clients e-mailed to me and my clients. If they like them, they know to get ahold of me and I'll make an appointment. It saves me time by not having to spend too much time browsing the hot sheet.
One thing I learned in a class recently and I need to force myself to do it is...turn off your phone and e-mail. If it's important, people will leave a message. I'm not saying don't check to see if anyone has called, but check at your convenience (even checking every 15-30 minutes or so is o.k. - at least you aren't being consitantly interrupted). You'll get MUCH MORE done during the day if you arent' constantly being interrupted.
I've found that setting aside a true schedule (one where you focus on one thing at a time) truly helps. For example, my schedule looks something like this:
7 am - wake up, make coffee/toast, check e-mails (throw on sweats or jeans and a T-shirt)
7:15 - enter leads into Top Producer so they're ready when BA gets in
7:30 - take son to daycare, shower, get dressed, do hair and make up (this can be in any order)
9:00 - Call Buyer's agent to check in and go over days agenda; answer e-mails, make phone calls, throw in laundry
10:00 - 12:00 - Prospecting
12:00 - LUNCH (schedule it in for yourself!) If you don't have fuel in your body, you won't have energy. Make time for yourself!
1:00 - return phone calls/check for new e-mails
1:30 - 3:30 - Prospecting
4:00 - return phone calls
4:30 - pick up son from Daycare
evening routine: check e-mails, call people you couldn't get ahold of during the day, etc.
Obviously the schedule has to be adjusted depending on what's going on (i.e., buyers in town, listing appointments, meetings, etc.). I have found that setting a timer for 15 minutes at a time and focusing on ONE THING works wonders. It's amazing what you can get accomplished in 15 minutes if you're doing JUST that.