As a Realtor®, you’re often required to wear many hats. Between marketing and promotion, generating new leads, showing houses and taking the time to follow up with your clients, sometimes it can feel like your job is never ending.
And this is especially true when you’re not managing your time properly.
But…what can you do about it?
Are there any tried and true time management methods out there for Realtors®?
The answer is most definitely yes – and here are some of my favorite time management tips.
Use Time Blocking for Scheduling
At the beginning of your week, take the time to not only create a loose schedule but actually assign specific blocks of time for everything that you need to get done. For example, maybe you need to be spending 5 hours a week on marketing efforts. In order to accommodate that, try scheduling out an hour-long chunk of time each day (from 10:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. for example) and commit to only working on marketing-related tasks during that hour each day. Or, if you’d rather work on marketing for a longer period of time, dedicate one 5 hour block of time once a week, on Tuesday afternoons for example, and stick to that. The key is to be consistent and stay committed to your schedule.
Designate Time for Lead Generation
However you choose to spend your time, there’s no denying that lead generation is one of the most important things you’ll do to help your business grow. But as a Realtor® with a busy schedule, it’s easy to put off this off in favor of easier tasks – even when you know you shouldn’t be putting it off. So in order to combat this, set aside an hour every day to focus solely on lead generation tactics – whether that be cold calling, reaching out to past clients, following up with warm leads, replying to email leads or however else you generate leads. Stay focused during that hour and don’t allow yourself to get distracted by other tasks. Leads are the lifeblood of your business, so you need to make sure you’re dedicating proper time for generating them!
Only Answer Emails and Voicemails During Certain Times
Going along with the concept of time blocking, set aside time each day to check emails and listen to voicemails instead of doing so dozens of times throughout the day – something that is sure to distract you from whatever task you were supposed to be working on. If you’re worried about people thinking that you are ignoring them, try setting an autoresponder on your emails and a personalized message on your voicemail letting people know that you will be responding to emails and/or phone calls at 10am, noon, and 3pm, or wherever you want to set your office hours. It may take a little getting used to, but doing this will help you stay focused and get more accomplished in the long run.
Plan Marketing Strategies out in Advance
Instead of constantly having to come up with new marketing strategies and print new marketing materials, try setting aside some time at the beginning of each quarter to plan things out for the coming months. Then, once you have a plan in place, do the necessary things to keep the plan running in advance – like ordering all of your print marketing materials and writing out your blog posts and advertisements. Planning ahead will help you stay focused and on track and also free up time later on to work on additional tasks and projects.
Take a Break from Being a Realtor® from Time to Time
Between evening home showings and weekend open houses, as a Realtor®, your schedule can be a little crazy at times, making time management even more important. With the often sporadic hours, be sure that you’re taking enough time to rest and recharge with family and friends by always scheduling a day off during the week. You need this to keep yourself functioning at the level required for your chosen career, so don’t skimp! And if you have all of your time scheduled out for the week, taking a day to rest won’t cut into the items on your to-do list anyway – they can wait for their scheduled time.
Time management isn’t difficult, but it does take a little practice to get the hang of it. Try implementing some of these tips today and watch how quickly your time management skills improve!
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