"I Know What to Do... I'm Just Not Doing It" Sound Familiar??

"I know what to do... I'm just not doing it"

That is the very statement I hear from agent after agent, over and over again. It's the reason many are in coaching and the reason why many are not performing the way they would like and even know they could be. So the question is... What's stopping them? If this sounds familiar... what's stopping you?

For most, it's an organizational issue along with an "ants-in-the-pants" feeling that strikes whenever you have to do one thing for an extended period of time. For example, have you ever time blocked prospecting calls and found that after about 30 minutes, you're itching to do some thing else... ANYTHING else? How about Piler Syndrome? My mother always said, "You are a piler not a filer". In other words, I collected clutter rather than being an efficient organized person. This translated into not being able to find things when I needed them, always running late for appointments, and feeling constantly busy but not really accomplishing anything I wanted to. This affected every area of my life until I finally got things straight out of necessity. You see, aside from my real estate centric business, I also have a husband, five home-schooled children, four dogs, a parrot, and a chameleon. On top of that I have to cook... constantly. We eat a gluten-free, plant-based, whole foods diet which means store-bought processed food and take-out doesn't fly around here so everything is made from scratch. 

So, how did I do it?

Well, I know you may have heard this solution before but I actually have a new spin on the trusted old method of time-blocking. I cannot possibly make calls for two hours straight... it drives me insane and my energy level and momentum drops the longer I keep at it. Solution: Make calls for 30 minutes, stop, and switch gears for 10-15 minutes. It distracts me long enough to bring my energy level back when I return to the phone. Doing things in small increments like that ensures I actually finish with the same energy as when I started. That makes me more efficient and productive in whatever activity I'm engaged in. 

I've also found that I and most other real estate people I've spoken to are "All or Nothing" people, meaning if we do something, it has to be all the time, not sometimes. Sometimes encourages procrastination and procrastination to us means it won't ever get done. Think about this in terms of exercise. How many times have you told yourself you're going to exercise 3 days a week; M, W, F, only for Monday to get pushed into Tuesday and then Tuesday didn't happen either. By the end of the week... did you exercise at all? Yeah... I didn't think so. So everything gets time blocked, business and personal. I know exactly what I'm going to be doing every minute of every day from the moment I wake up to the moment I go to bed. No, this isn't boring. I have chaos all around me. Between my chaotic family life and being in real estate, no day is ever the same but I know what activity I'm going to be involved in at any given moment. 

Part II of this is that the time blocking has got to be on a digital calendar. I use google myself. This way I can color code, leaving available appointment times in pink so that I can easily glance at my schedule and see what slots I need to fill. I can set as many reminders as I like which go off on my computer, my tablet, and my phone. I never delete anything if I have to juggle. I simply drag and drop to another spot. I also set everything to repeat. Once I have the week exactly the way I want it, setting it to repeat means I never have to touch it again. 

Now, just think what it means to have your entire life organized like that. You stop worrying about all that stuff you know you need to remember and can't forget which means when you're in the middle of a project or a task or an appointment, you're really and truly focused on what is in front of you. Everything else has a time and place assigned to it already. All those reminders mean no more late or missed apointments.

Once you get the digital calendar time blocked appropriately to your actual life and attention span, you'll find that digital paper management is another clear way to win. Dropbox files will take you everywhere and all your stuff will follow. If you need a CRM but never can force yourself into doing data entry, hire a virtual assistant to do it for you. For less than a hundred dollars a week, you'd be amazed at what they can accomplish. 

Can you imagine it? Your calendar tells you what to do and when. You're never late. When you want to pull a file, it's right there in your phone. When you want to call a customer/client, all your notes are waiting for you in an app on your phone. No more loose papers falling out of your purse, your briefcase, or your car. You actually have some free time. Now, think about how much money you made last year. Once you integrate this type of organization into your life, how much are you going to make this year? 

You know what to do and now... you're doing it. The feeling of having it all together is absolutely priceless. ;-)

For more information on organization for chaotic real estate professionals or finding a VA to make your life easier, check out www.MasterAgentLife.com You've learned how to do the JOB of a real estate agent, now learn how to live the LIFE of one.

-Angela