Is Creating Your Own Work Schedule the Deam?

Set your own hours. Be your own boss. This kind of liberation is what may have led you to a career in real estate in the first place. You envisioned yourself doing things on your own time. Your goal is to make money by helping people achieve their real estate goals while maintaining a healthy work/life balance. If you are a new real estate agent, you may be still in the planning stage of your business. You probably don’t have the volume of business yet to appreciate setting your own schedule because right now your calendar is wide open. Real estate is cyclical in nature, and I assure you that your open availability will soon be changing…

Maybe you are still working at your full-time job and handling a few clients when time allows. Even this will give you a new respect for time allocation. You’re doing your best to keep track of personal obligations, doctor’s appointments, parent/teacher conferences, and the list goes on.

Now you are adding new real estate clients in the mix and wishing there were more hours in the day.  Here are some ways you can take back control of your schedule.

What Should I Expect?

The 5 am Club

You may be thinking, there is no way I am getting up at 5 am. I can thoroughly relate and respect the need for extra sleep. If I am able to press snooze for a few more minutes of slumber, I most certainly do. But think about it this way-just like you are so grateful to stay under the covers for a few more minutes, you will be able to bank a collection of bonus time each day. Simply start by waking up 15 minutes earlier for a few days in a row. Try for 30 minutes earlier next week. Use this time to your advantage by making a list of just 3 things you wish to accomplish for the day. A quick morning meditation is a great way to start this new ritual. This will set the tone for your entire day and get things off on the right foot. 

Staying on Track

What if you manage to advance your new habit and wake up a full hour earlier each day? It’s still the daily grind but having this newfound quiet morning routine is your calm before the storm.

You have banked an extra 3 hours at the end of each week just by getting up earlier in the morning. No more scrambling out the door. You are back in control and able to tour clients on the weekends without compromising your other responsibilities. 

Discipline is Key

Setting boundaries is often necessary to stay on schedule. Once you have developed a daily routine, if it isn’t broke, don’t fix it. Use your morning to focus on what you will accomplish and when. Maybe late morning will be emails and setting appointments. Early afternoon will be callbacks and in-person meetings. Late afternoon may be school dismissal and dinner. Perhaps early evening is a few showings before pickups from practice. Everyone’s scheduling needs vary so choose what is right for you and try not to deviate from it. We live in a world of instant gratification. Everything must be now. We tend to forget that it is truly okay to tell someone we’ll text them later. The airplane oxygen mask analogy may be cliché, but it is certainly relevant to the chaotic life most of us lead today. Sometimes you must tell people, “I’ll get right back to you,” in order to get back to YOU.