Productivity Tips for Busy Realtors

Both the underperforming agent and the super successful Realtor have 24 hours in their day. So what’s the difference? It’s all about time management: learning how to work smarter instead of harder. Today, we’re examining productivity tips for busy Realtors.

Learn Time Management Skills

Studies of the world’s most successful people find they all have one thing in common: they don’t waste time. That doesn’t mean they work 14-hour days; it just means they make the most of their work hours.

The trick is to plan, prioritize, and organize.

Plan

Before your work week begins, plan out your time, and do it realistically. Give yourself enough time to complete a task – and complete it well – before moving on to the next. If you’re always feeling rushed, that frenetic energy will spill over into every other part of your business.

There are many ways to plan. Some professionals use a whiteboard. Others prefer sticky notes. Still others use the trusty calendar, whether a hard copy or electronic.

However you do it, laying out a plan for your week will help you visualize how you can best spend your time to complete the week’s tasks.

Prioritize

Once you’ve planned your week, you might realize there are more tasks on your to-do list than there are hours in a day. To keep yourself from burning out, prioritize which duties are essential to your business, and which ones can wait.

One way to stratify your to-do list is to use an Eisenhower Matrix, named after the 34^th President. The Eisenhower Matrix helps busy professionals prioritize the importance of each task or appointment, and categorizes them in four quadrants:

[Photo]

Identifying which tasks are most important and which can wait can help you prioritize your time, increasing focus and helping you better achieve your goals.

Organize

Taking just a few minutes to organize your workspace can help you be more productive throughout the day. Staying organized means more than just clearing up the clutter on your desk. It also means organizing your contacts, your appointments, and your responsibilities.

Make Time to Do Nothing

When financial planner and researcher Thomas C. Corley studied 177 self-made millionaires to discover what makes them successful, he found something interesting: they all scheduled time to do, well, nothing.

Corley found that successful business owners typically take 15-30 minutes a day to think. To plan, dream, imagine, or practice mindfulness.

Being overworked leads to stress and, eventually, burnout. Carve out time in your busy schedule to do some intentional thinking, to refocus and regroup. It may feel like you’re wasting time at first, but Corley’s research showed that this kind of intense focus can actually increase productivity.

Enlist Resources to Increase Productivity

Technology has changed the landscape of business. While it has made our lives more complicated in some aspects – essentially allowing us to be on-call 24 hours a day, with access to email and social media in the palms of our hands – it has also given us tools to increase our productivity.

There exist an abundance of AI assistants and other technologies that help us manage our contacts, send correspondence, sign and organize contracts, and schedule appointments for us. By utilizing this technology, we can save ourselves hours every week, allowing us to tackle the vital tasks at the top of our to-do list.

Our Winning Agent Pro themes are just one of the many programs making life easier for busy real estate agents. With IDX integration and all-inclusive website design services, we can save you time and help you get back to running your business.

If technology and AI still aren’t preventing you from working 80-hour weeks, it might be time to enlist some help. Hiring professional real estate assistants will drastically increase your ability to get more done.

Say No to Multitasking

Finally, we live in a culture where multitasking is seen as a supernatural ability. The truth is, multitasking actually makes you less productive overall. A 2012 study found that multitasking decreases productivity by up to 40%.

Instead, experts say you should focus on completing one task, limiting distractions while you work. You’ll get more accomplished in a shorter time.

What are your tips for working smarter, not harder? How do you plan, prioritize, and organize? Share your tips with us below or find us on Facebook and Twitter!