Real estate can be a very stressful career! The trick to a long and successful career is to have some good tools in your pocket to reduce that stress. Here are a few of my favorites!
1. Your calendar. Your calendar is one key to significantly reducing your stress. Really! Once you get a rhythm to your days and weeks, you’ll find it much easier to roll with the weeks instead of pinging all over the place like a pinball. I am fond of saying that “if I could get real estate agents to work 20 hours per week instead of playing at working 60 hours per week, they would make more money.”
I have done many posts and videos about managing your calendar and I’ll say, start with blocking out time for your new client appointments, then your SPECIFIC lead generation activities, paperwork, TIME OFF, etc. Make the time blocks repeating forever and ever. Drag and drop if you need to.
2. Checklists. OK, I’ll admit. I never thought I would be advocating checklists. However, once I was managing 5-8 transactions at a time, a checklist was the only way to not completely lose my mind (or clients). Whether digital or physical, doesn’t matter. Get yourself some good checklists.
3. Increase your skills. When you know you will convert more of the leads you get, your stress about getting new clients will be greatly reduced. And, when you know that you do a really good job for those clients, that helps too. Spend time every week working on your lead conversion, your paperwork knowledge, your market knowledge, your listing and buyer presentation, previewing properties. The more you know….the less stress you have.
4. Practice self-care. Turn off your phone at a reasonable hour. You can’t fix their problem at 10 pm, don’t listen to it at 10 pm. (oh, warn them of this ahead of time.) Have a morning ritual (not routine, “ritual”) that feeds your mind and body for the upcoming day. I personally like the book Miracle Morning. Find the ritual that prepares you for whatever the day will bring.
5. Schedule vacations. Research shows that having something to look forward to makes everything better.
6. Find your support network. Whether a coaching group, supper club, exercise group, whatever. Find that group of people that cheers you on and celebrates your successes with you.
What works best for you??
