Time Management Tips for Real Estate Agents
With a demanding schedule and so many people depending on you, it’s understandable if your work in real estate feels overwhelming. The truth is, you don’t have to work insane hours to be more productive- you just need to master making effective use of your time. Learning time management skills will lower your stress and give you some of your personal time back while still maximizing your production. Check out these time management tips to get even the busiest real estate agents back on track.
- Prioritize Tasks
Not every task can have the same level of importance, but when you fail to prioritize items, it can often feel that way. If you want to save time and maximize your output, break down what tasks are most urgent from high, medium, to low. Writing down and sorting your projects lets you visualize their importance and attack each item in the order of its importance. Once you begin to consistently knock out the most urgent tasks first, you will likely notice an increase in down time or more time to focus on smaller tasks.
- Track Your time
Tracking the amount of time spent on any given task is a surefire way to pinpoint bottlenecks in your workflow. If you find that simple tasks are taking hours and eating up your day, consider automating the process or breaking it up into smaller pieces that you can do throughout the week. Less time spent stuck on tasks now frees up other parts of your day to focus on selling and earning money.
- Delegate and Outsource
When it comes to smaller administrative tasks like scheduling meetings or posting property listings, it may be more beneficial to delegate the work to team members or outsource it. The American Management Association states that managers who delegate effectively have direct reports who are better developed and are more involved and enthusiastic about their work. Leverage freelance contractors or a virtual task manager. Freeing up your team from minor but meticulous tasks can improve overall focus and let agents spend their valuable time generating revenue and building client relationships.
- Touch Base with Your Team
By hosting daily or alternate day team meetings, you can have a much better understanding of your team’s workload and the expectations that come along with it. Also consider your teams strengths. Allow your team to work to their strengths to decrease lag times and stay efficient.
- Block Your Time
Time blocking is a common time management technique where you break your day into blocks, with each time block being dedicated to a specific task. In theory, time blocking maximizes your output because you are working on only one task where you can give 100%. It is important to note that a key component to successfully time blocking is eliminating distractions. Consider shutting off your phone and turning on your favorite music or a podcast to lock in and knock out your work.
