Sleep management is something that many people need to learn during their lifetime. A normal sleep schedule and a good sleep management are important in every line of work. University students struggle with getting enough sleep because they prioritize other social engagements or studying before sleep, thinking that their young age means that they are less affected by lack of sleep.
However, once you enter the work field you will face other time consuming activities that are more important than a night out with friends. Children, household activities, older relatives as well as other things become a priority. Most things can not be scheduled for another time or can not be overlooked and sleep gets postponed, deprioritized or limited to fewer hours a night. Burnout is real and many real estate agents fail and get out of business because of a poor time management.
For a real estate agent, work schedules can be unpredictable, hectic and some would even go as far as to say that their working hours are 24/7. This can happen in the beginning of a real estate agent’s career when they are just learning what the trade means in regards to time management. It is detrimental that you figure out ways through which as a real estate agent your work life balance doesn’t tilt excessively one way or the other. The key is finding balance and a way to organize your real estate agent’s daily schedule.
How long do real estate agents work?
That question has been asked time and time again. So far we haven’t found a simple answer to it as the schedule of a real estate agent is difficult to pinpoint. Working as a real estate agent can not be compared to those 9 - 5 jobs where you clock in and clock out and once you walk out the door everything related to work is put on hold. That is why many real estate agents say that their work hours are 24/7.
As a real estate agent your working hours will not be set. As independent contractors, real estate agents work whenever they want to work or whenever they need to. But this is where a lot of real estate agents miss out because as flexible as the working hours can be for real estate agents, this does not mean that they can not try to implement a system that works best for them as well as for their clients.
The truth about being a real estate agent does mean that your working hours are directly affected by those of your clients, your listings and failing to optimize your open house for those listings. A real estate agents might decide that they are more comfortable working from Monday to Friday during 9 to 5, but their buyer also works from 9 to 5 during the week and they are only available to view a house after working hours, and if the house is occupied then you have to also consider when the owner is comfortable with viewings. There are a lot of factors that have to be taken into consideration and a real estate agent needs to organize certain aspects of their work to better fit everyone else that is involved.
Those that choose to develop, organize or set a schedule for their working hours can make it so that all their office work gets taken care of during a specific timeframe and the viewings can be organized around their clients. There are many other tricks that can be applied for a better time management for a better sleep pattern. The following tricks can also help a real estate agent improve their work-life balance.
Tricks real estate agents use
Many real estate agents think that being their own boss and being in charge of their work schedule means that they have all the liberties in the world. This can be true but it might also be a tough lesson to learn. You can easily fall into the two extremes. You might find yourself procrastinating too much and lacking motivation, or you might be so motivated by the income gained from the long hours that everything else is put on hold because of a sale.
While being successful in your work is something to be proud of, if that comes while your personal life is suffering, the cost is too high. It is very important to learn to prioritize, to organize your life in such a way that you can still enjoy life. A great paycheck is only great if you have the energy and the time to spend it in a way to make you feel good about yourself. Gaining money that you won’t be able to enjoy is useless, unless you’re an Egyptian king and you need to fill up your piramid with all the gold in the world.
There are ways in which you can advance your real estate business while also enjoying your life, but you will have to implement a system that allows you to do just that. Try implementing some of the following tricks real estate agents use to find a work-life balance.
1. Organize your daily tasks
Multitasking is not always a viable option for real estate agents. So if there are things in your daily tasks that you can organize, then go ahead and do just that. The easiest things that you can set a timeline for are emails. During a normal workday you will find that you get emails at all hours from clients, buyers, sellers, other agents and some might be more urgent than others. There are many email tools that can help you organize your email by keywords and like that it will be easier for you to choose the very important emails in order to prioritize them better.
At the same time you can schedule some hours during the day when you reply to emails. By simply mentioning in your email signature “Can answer email between 8-9, 12-13 and 16-17” you set some boundaries. You can also find a niche because with a niche your clients tend to be more similar to each other with similar available hours and your house viewing schedule might be more manageable.
2. Time management
As mentioned above, setting up a schedule for the things that are in your control to organize will improve your work-life balance. If you’re working for a big real estate firm or become a broker, compared to working on your own with a small firm you will see that your time might be more limited. It will help limit the time spent at home in your office while your significant other and your children are enjoying family time. It all depends on you, your expectations and your availability towards your clients. If, however, you want to spend more time with your family, it isn’t difficult to communicate with your clients from the start what your available hours are, what hours you can compromise because you are both juggling many balls. An organized schedule is not something that will make you lose clients.
However, you can still offer your clients 100% availability and end up with emails, messages or calls late in the evening about tile colors, wallpaper designs or patio light fixtures. They will promote this complete availability to potential future clients and once the ball is rolling, it can be difficult to pull the breaks.
3. Out of office hours
Similar to the set hours for email replies, you can organize your work in such a way that everything done from a computer is done during set work hours, while you remain open for house viewings and open houses outside of office hours. Those can be limited to a couple a day in such a way that you don’t overcrowd your schedule. Also, focus on your own plans and stop dropping your new year’s resolutions because of your busy real estate agent schedule.
You can also make your office hours known for all potential customers, while you offer however much availability you want to your clients in private as an exclusive service. Like that, you are available during work hours to potential new clients, but those that are signed know that you are available for them 24/7 if you want.
4. You’re not alone
It is understandable that during your beginning period as a real estate agent you pretty much have to fend for yourself, unless you are working with a broker, but there might come a time when that can change. In order to advance your career and develop your real estate business you need to be able to focus on the most important factor of the equation. You need to maximize your time in such a way that you can provide the best service possible for your clients. There are daily tasks related to a real estate agent’s job that can be delegated to someone else. An assistant could help you with updating your listings, managing your clients database, handling some paperwork, work on reports and presentations and so much more. All this takes up a lot of your time and once you can afford to hire someone, by letting go of all of that you will have that much more time available to dedicate to your clients. Building a real estate agent team will help you in the long run even if it means spending money. Your income will increase and your personal life will also benefit. With fewer hours spent you may find yourself making more money and have more time available for your personal life. Listing your services through The Official Real Estate Agent Directory® will also help you promote your business and get in touch with new clients every day.
5. Focus on your needs
Probably the most important item on the list. Everything mentioned above will allow you to take better care of yourself and your needs. Anything related to time management will benefit you in the end and if you make room in your daily life for activities that help you physically as well as mentally your whole life will improve.
Going to the gym, taking up yoga, meditation, a sport, a hobby, running, biking, all these are options for an improved life-style. Many people fall in a toxic routing of work-sleep-work-sleep and so on and that will only affect your life further. The reasoning behind this is that they are too tired once they get home to start doing anything else so they crash in front of the TV. That way of thinking is not only wrong but it is also devastating for the mental and physical health of any individual. Exercising, in any way, shape or form it may be, brings only benefits to the individual. It can even be something as simple as taking your dog for a walk once you get home from work, or going for a run. The benefits are amazing and your sleeping pattern will improve significantly.
Conclusion
In real estate as well as in many other industries that are exposed to certain levels of stress, good time management can lower stress levels, limit anxiety. Couple that with a consistent sleeping pattern and your whole business will improve. When someone is tired or stressed their productivity levels will drop and their business will suffer. Finding a balance between work and life is very important and the ability to manage your time can give you just that. If you want to thrive as a real estate agent and advance your business, you could try following the tricks mentioned above and reap the benefits.
Let us know in the comments below if there is any trick that works best for you and hasn’t been mentioned above. Like & Share this article as there are a few real estate agents that could use these simple tricks.
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