Spring is often a time for cleaning our homes, shedding those heavy coats and the breaking free from the confines of our homes as we prepare for spending more time outside than inside. I can't wait!
With that thought I would like to discuss a problem and offer a solution to an all too common problem facing many businesses, our offices and our lives - disorganization(ewww - I know an ugly word - sorry stagers.) When I think of "spring cleaning" I imagine getting rid of and donating the things I no longer need. (I actually did it this weekend and let me tell you - what a productive week I've had and I want you feeling that way too.)
Fact:
Being disorganized costs you time and money.
Think about this - If you spend say 15 minutes a day, 3 times a week looking for a document, website, etc. and you add that time up over a year period - you are essentially losing over an entire weeks worth of time that you could have spent on your business. (Scary thought isn't it?)
How about this quote from Michael Gerber of E-Myth :
"If you spend too much time working in your business, you won't have enough time to work on your business."
So what's my point?
Problem: In our current economic situation, when one detail or deadline is overlooked, it could cost you your client and/or your business.
Solution: Develop and Follow your business and marketing plan. That's right, gain the edge by organizing your business, your time and your focus.
How you ask? I have come across many lately, that think: before I outsource some of this work, I need to get organized first.
Whoa there...I liken this thinking to when you were first starting to think about having kids and you said to your spouse - "lets just wait a bit until we have more time or more money, etc. etc." - you'll be waiting forever in my opinion. I know this from personal experience and let me tell you - there is no good time, and not enough money in the world to afford children these days.
The same thinking can be applied to business - There is no "perfect" time and nothing will ever be "perfect." There are many of us trying to do everything. Here's another example: Would you spend countless hours trying to fix your car, especially not having that experience and knowledge or even time, or would you call a mechanic? My point is reach out to someone to help you - someone who is trained and specializes in providing the services you need.
Just because you have lots of things to do doesn't mean you're the only one who can do it. Focus on your key strengths and find someone who can help you get the work done quicker and maybe even better than you could.
With that all said, I thought I would share with you a free tool I have been playing around with called Slife.
What is it and what can it do?
- Slife is a time and activity analytics application for both Mac and Windows that automatically keeps track of where you spend your time on your computer.
- Slife observes as you interact with applications, documents, email and web sites and then displays detailed statistics of your computer usage in a set of intuitive and easy to use visualizations.
- With Slife, you can finally understand where you are spending your time and energy, and focus on what really matters.
I invite you to play around with it and truly see how much time you are spending on your computer and finding a way to cut that time down so you can be actually out in your market, with your clients and putting the license you worked so hard to obtain to great use.
It doesn't take a clean house to enlist the help and services of many of the great people on this network and throughout your markets that support the real estate industry professional, but it does take realization and knowledge to know you should - call one today and see the difference it can make to your day and your business.
It's time to start doing what you do best!
Share your thoughts on these points - I love hearing what you have to say:
Have you enlisted help from someone and "freed" up some of your time? What were you able to do that you weren't able to before?
Have you ever tracked the time you spend doing tasks, being on the computer, creating a presentation or creating and updating your website - will you think about it and how having a balance and a plan may help grow your business? I am not telling anyone to not be on the computer, social media sites and staying close to their work - just suggesting a balance - ok?
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Please Note: This post is in no way intended to promote or solicit people as I feel I am promoting all services that work with real estate professionals, it is however, to point out that many real estate professionals are taking on a lot of work themselves when someone else might be better equipped with experience and time to handle these functions for them. This is also not to say that you should not be close and on top of your business, but perhaps by getting the right help you are more able to provide to your clients in ways that you and they are hoping for because you have more time to dedicate.
~Anne Marie
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