Recapture those wasted minutes!

By
Services for Real Estate Pros with Marte Cliff Copywriting

When you're in a business driven by appointments with other people, "empty space" between those appointments is inevitable.

So - you find yourself sitting at your desk or in your car with 5 minutes, 15 minutes, time is preciousor even a half hour of being "on hold." I don't know about you, but being on hold is one of my least favorite pastimes.

It's especially annoying when you know you have work to do. But - since you're on hold you don't know for sure how many minutes you have. So, there's no point in starting to do something that requires more time than you might have.

What can you do with 5 minutes?

Plenty.

  • Write a “Hi, how are you” note to a past client or someone in your sphere.
  • Pen a thank you note.
  • Download the last photos you took.
  • Write a comment on a blog post.
  • Reply to a comment or two on your own blog.
  • Make some notes to yourself about your next blog post.
  • Share one or more of your posts or pages on Facebook, LinkedIn, or one of the other social sites.

What if you have 10 or 15 minutes?

  • Make a phone call to a past client or someone in your sphere.
  • Visit Copy by Marte and choose your next set of prospecting letters.
  • Upload a blog post.
  • Sort through those photos you uploaded.
  • Get up, go outside, and take a brisk walk.
  • Call someone you love, just to tell them so.

In her member's only post, Leanne Smith's wrote about the high cost of wasting just 12 minutes a day.

This is no different. If you waste 5 minutes just 12 times a week, you'll have lost an hour of productivity.

So reclaim it! Make a master list of things you can do in 5, 10, or 15 minutes. Then, when you find yourself "on hold," get out the list and choose something to do.

Ben Franklin said "Dost thou love life? Then do not squander time, for that is the stuff life is made of."

Comments (26)

Brian England
Arizona Focus Realty - Gilbert, AZ
MBA, GRI, REALTOR® Real Estate in East Valley AZ

I don't like being on hold at all, haha.  I have always tried to provide myself with a buffer between appointments and I arrive early to them so that I can check messages and such before I head into them.

Feb 08, 2023 05:05 AM
Wayne Martin
Wayne M Martin - Chicago, IL
Real Estate Broker - Retired

Good morning Marte. In order not to let the day get away from me I practiced scheduling Flex Time between meetings. And I had things to do during that Flex Time if it was not consumed. When I did not, I was frustrated. Enjoy your day. 

Feb 08, 2023 05:16 AM
Kat Palmiotti
406-270-3667, kat@thehousekat.com, Broker/REALTOR® - Kalispell, MT
Helping your Montana dreams take root

Great advice. The wasted minutes do add up!

Feb 08, 2023 05:18 AM
Joan Cox
House to Home, Inc. - Denver Real Estate - 720-231-6373 - Denver, CO
Denver Real Estate - Selling One Home at a Time

Marte, often we have a few minutes waiting on hold, or waiting for a client.  Great tips!

Feb 08, 2023 06:28 AM
Andrea Bedard
Thompson Company, REALTORS® 240.593.2860 - Silver Spring, MD
Fluent in Real Estate & German, M.A. ABR ASP CIPS

These are great tips, Marte! I like to make calls in the car or listen to a podcast, I feel it's just such a waste of time otherwise. One or twice a week I sit for 30 whole minutes waiting while my child is in a music lesson. I almost always post on the socials during this time. It feels good to use my time wisely. 

Feb 08, 2023 07:35 AM
Marte Cliff
Marte Cliff Copywriting - Priest River, ID
Your real estate writer

Bob "RealMan" Timm Good for you. All you need is work that can be interrupted when you're finally off "hold."

Feb 08, 2023 03:42 PM
Marte Cliff
Marte Cliff Copywriting - Priest River, ID
Your real estate writer

Kathy Streib When I make a call that I think will result in being left on hold, I try to remember to use my "headphone phone" so I don't have to hang on to the darn thing.

Feb 08, 2023 03:43 PM
Marte Cliff
Marte Cliff Copywriting - Priest River, ID
Your real estate writer

Jeff Masich-Scottsdale AZ Associate Broker,MBA,GRI That's not wasted time - that's just 5 minutes of well-earned luxury!

Feb 08, 2023 03:44 PM
Marte Cliff
Marte Cliff Copywriting - Priest River, ID
Your real estate writer

Laura Cerrano That isn't always easy! However, I do enjoy writing, so when it's going well it is almost like play.

Feb 08, 2023 03:45 PM
Marte Cliff
Marte Cliff Copywriting - Priest River, ID
Your real estate writer

Sham Reddy CRS I agree. Being on hold isn't a time when you can dig into something that requires a lot of thought.

Feb 08, 2023 03:46 PM
Marte Cliff
Marte Cliff Copywriting - Priest River, ID
Your real estate writer

Nina Hollander, Broker Back when I was an agent, I found there were far too many of those little bits. And in those days, we didn't have phones that acted as computers, so there weren't a whole lot of choices of things to do.

Feb 08, 2023 03:48 PM
Marte Cliff
Marte Cliff Copywriting - Priest River, ID
Your real estate writer

Brian England I don't either - and I especially dislike it when I've been waiting for 10 or 20 minutes and the phone suddenly gives me that ugly beep, beep thing that says "I don't want to talk to  you. I've hung up!"

Feb 08, 2023 03:50 PM
Marte Cliff
Marte Cliff Copywriting - Priest River, ID
Your real estate writer

Wayne Martin It's nice to keep a list of small things to do, so you don't waste all the time wondering what you can find to do that's useful.

Feb 08, 2023 03:51 PM
Marte Cliff
Marte Cliff Copywriting - Priest River, ID
Your real estate writer

Kat Palmiotti Yes they do. 5 here and 10 there can remove hours of productivity from your week.

Feb 08, 2023 03:52 PM
Marte Cliff
Marte Cliff Copywriting - Priest River, ID
Your real estate writer

Joan Cox Too many of them. But unless you're like a doctor, who simply stacks patients in the waiting room, there's no way to schedule appointments tightly enough to avoid them.

Feb 08, 2023 03:53 PM
Marte Cliff
Marte Cliff Copywriting - Priest River, ID
Your real estate writer

Andrea Bedard At least when it's your child's music lesson, you know how much time you have and can plan for how you'll use it. What's annoying to me is not knowing if it will 5 minutes - or 50!
Last week I had a well-known company call - and ask me to wait on hold for their next available representative. No thanks!

Feb 08, 2023 03:56 PM
Andrea Bedard

Very true! I always carry a notepad around with me and start jotting down ideas, or I'll research something while I wait.. but not knowing how long it will be IS annoying. 

Feb 09, 2023 10:59 AM
Wanda Kubat-Nerdin - Wanda Can!
Red Rock Real Estate (435) 632-9374 - St. George, UT
St. George Utah Area Residential Sales Agent

Making the day county toward productivity is important for work and every minute is guaranteed to be spent, despite what people do, Marte!

Feb 09, 2023 10:35 AM
Marte Cliff
Marte Cliff Copywriting - Priest River, ID
Your real estate writer

Andrea Bedard A notebook is a good idea - because ideas can flit through your head and back out again in an instant!

Good for you, Wanda Kubat-Nerdin - Wanda Can! 

Feb 09, 2023 02:41 PM
Dr. Paula McDonald
Beam & Branch Realty - Granbury, TX
Granbury, TX 936-203-0279

I love this and agree that we can never make up lost time. Staying on top of things is essential.

Feb 09, 2023 03:29 PM
Marte Cliff
Marte Cliff Copywriting - Priest River, ID
Your real estate writer

Dr. Paula McDonald Time is one thing we can't replace once it is gone. We need to use it wisely.

Feb 13, 2023 08:16 PM