Are You a Good Juggler?

Are You a Good Juggler?

One definition of a juggler on Google is “an entertainer who continuously tosses into the air and catches a number of objects so as to keep at least one in the air while handling the others.”

Is that you in this busy real estate business? Perhaps you are not really an entertainer, nor actually tossing around balls or other objects…although maybe there are times when you feel like throwing something when no one’s around to see!

Another definition I found is “a person who adroitly balances several activities.”  Perhaps that’s a better description of us in this business!

We often talk of juggling a lot of different tasks in real estate:

Balancing numerous call, emails and texts

Responding to questions about properties

Dealing with issues and problems that crop up in transactions

Handling buyer and seller emotions

Showing properties to your buyers

Communicating with sellers and buyers

Setting up showings and answering questions from buyer agents

Checking in with lenders

Keeping our online marketing up to date

Participating on social media sites

And the list goes on and on.

So are you a good juggler or not?

Can you keep all the balls you are juggling up in the air or do you drop one occasionally?

The juggler analogy works pretty well, save for the fact that often what we have to juggle keeps changing, sometimes without notice.

Then...all of a sudden someone tosses us something else to juggle when our hands are pretty full, adding to what we have to deal with.

Do you have a choice? Well, maybe not, depending on the issue that was thrown at you when you already have an overflowing plate.

While dropping a ball as a juggler is pretty uneventful, other than being an embarrassment, in our business dropping the ball, or choosing not to deal with an issue, could put our clients’ transaction at risk, may let someone down, or create a problem.

And dropping that ball certainly makes a bad impression, may damage your reputation, and threatens the trust people have in you. No one likes being accused of dropping the ball.

You might say no one will notice…or that it really doesn’t matter. That’s not a good mind-set to get into, and could become a habit. You don’t want to go there.

But, realistically, what can you do when you are already juggling a lot and more comes your way.

One option is to delegate, if there is someone you can delegate to. If you are too busy all the time juggling all those tasks it might be time to hire a part-time or full-time administrator, or use a virtual assistant. You probably shouldn’t juggle everything and anything.

A better solution is to prioritize…perhaps a To Do list if that’s not in your repertoire. Yes, you may be very busy juggling, but perhaps you are juggling things that are not necessary, are a waste of time and energy, aren’t time sensitive, are not income producing, are not related to an active transaction, or that do not add value to your business.

What MUST you juggle and what can wait til later?

Are there things that are perhaps not worth your jugging talents?

Or could you juggle them at another time?

Are there things someone else should be juggling and not you?

Another solution? Well, you might be able to simply say NO to some things. Volunteer activities may be important to you, for example, but taking more of your time than desired. But if not, then something else may have to give.

Are you using your calendar as effectively as you could to keep track of appointments, calls, plus your personal life. In the midst of all your juggling are you forgetting things that are really important to you or that must be done? The calendar and a To Do List could work wonders.

Juggling is part of our business, and our personal lives, like it or not. Choosing what to juggle, how, when and where, along with prioritizing, delegating and calendaring, can make a difference in how good we are at juggling.