I have vowed to remove "I'm so busy"from my vocabulary. Why? Because EVERYONE is busy! We all get the same 24 hours, it's just a matter of how we use our time. As a Realtor we have the luxury of setting our own schedules. But this "luxury" can just as easily become a "curse" because we are not used to setting our own schedules. In our pre-real estate lives, we more than likely had someone else dictate our comings and goings.
I conducted a little experiment with my class this past Monday. I printed out a blank calendar for the week and asked each agent to fill in what they were planning to do for the week. We blocked out personal time, our two hour training session, our one hour business meeting, two hours for previewing properties, open houses, open house preparation and an hour and a half for the daily routine of checking/following up emails and checking the MLS. We then blocked out an hour each day for prospecting/lead generation. As I was going through the items they needed to do daily they expressed concern that they weren't going to have enough time during the week to actually meet with clients and show property.
When we finished adding all of the daily activities they were shocked to see how much time they had left each day. Even those who thought they had a tight and efficient work schedule were surprised. But the simple truth is...we ALL tend to waste a lot of time, and when you see your schedule laid out in front of you, you can't help but see the huge holes in your day. But the good news is that once you put your daily/weekly activities on your calendar and follow that schedule, you can be more productive.
So as you are doing your planning for the upcoming year, take a good look at all of the activities on your schedule and see what can be tightened up, what needs to be added or what can be eliminated altogether. I think you will be surprised at how much time you gain!
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