The real estate industry is a very hectic environment with many distractions. It?s very easy to spend your time being busy. Just because you?re busy though, doesn?t mean you?re actually accomplishing anything.
If you wanted one hour of work a day that can add up. If you assume a 5 hour work week that?s 260 hours a year, almost a solid 11 days!
So how can you better utilize your time and concentrate on what?s important? Here are 7 time management tips that the real estate professionals use to get things done.
1) Set Goals
Everyone knows that you should set goals. Everyone?s also heard about S.M.A.R.T. goals as well. Very few people actually set goals and make a plan.
The first thing you should do is decide your ideal income either for the month or year. Then figure out what you need to do to meet that income and work backwards.
Ask yourself these questions:
- How many sales do you need to achieve your income goal?
- What percentage of your listings sell and how many will you need to reach your sales goal?
- How many listing presentations and appointments do you need to convert your ideal number of listings contracts?
- How many people do you need to contact to reach your appointment goal? Not everyone you contact will make an appointment.
- What amount of leads do you need to start with to reach your contact goal?
2) Make a Detailed List
Now that you have your goal and a rough idea of what you need it?s time to plan everything out.
The first thing to do is to make a detailed list of everything you need to do. Make master to-do lists as well as daily lists.
To-do lists might be a common suggestion but they can dramatically influence your level of productivity.
3) Allocate a Timeframe for Each Task
Once you know what you need to do it?s time to set a specific timeframe for each task.
For example, set a specific amount of time that you?re going to spend each day calling leads.
Many successful real estate agents spend 90 minutes prospecting per session. And prospect 4 to 5 days a week.
Having a distinct deadline for each task also creates accountability which forces you to get things done.
4) Plan Your Day Out
Now that you have a detailed list of what needs to be done and you?ve allocated a time frame for each task it?s easy to plan your days.
Don?t limit yourself to a standard 9 to 5 timeframe either. Feel free to schedule tasks at the most opportune time.
For example you might want to make your sales calls in the morning, afternoon and evening to increase the chances of reaching people.
Mark off each item you complete and it?ll be easy to look back and see what you?ve accomplished.
5) Focus on the Biggest, Most Important Items First
There are a ton of things that can easily waste your time. Ignore these and focus on the tasks that will help you reach your goals from Step 1.
Identify the most important and biggest tasks first. Complete those and the smaller items will take care of themselves.
Check out this video for an excellent metaphor on this idea.
6) Touch Each Item Only Once
You should always take immediate action on all your tasks. When something comes up either do it yourself or delegate it. Don?t put it to the side to deal with later.
If you adopt this kind of attitude you?ll have less opportunities for things to fall through the cracks.
7) Get Rid of What’s Unnecessary
Throw away old papers, files and objects that aren?t important or are no longer relevant. So many things that you?re holding on to will never be used again.
These items will distract you and drain your energy so remove them to make more time and energy for what?s truly important.
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