From checking texts in the morning to an early evening open house, an agent’s day is often packed with activity. After putting in long hours for business, agents may feel too tired to appreciate their free time. From friends and family to exercise, agents need to learn how to fit everything into a hectic day. Discover how to achieve work-life balance as a successful agent.
Get Organized
Getting well-organized is a crucial aspect of achieving work-life balance. Have a planner or use technology to maintain a master schedule. Include all business and personal appointments to ensure there are no conflicts. Maintain updated digital and physical files, so you always know the status of each client. Create a system at home to manage important personal business, such as medical appointments and birthdays. Being organized is the first step toward finding balance because no time is wasted searching for necessities.
Define Areas of Concern
Finding work-life balance means determining what is most important in life to the agent. Establishing priorities helps agents find a unique balance to make them happy and profitable. Areas of concern may include business, a spouse, family, friends, exercise, education, health, fitness, and recreation. Determine the percentage each will have in daily, weekly, and monthly life based on relevance.
Create To-Do Lists
Making to-do lists and checking them twice is a smart way to stay on top of never-ending tasks. Create lists for work and home to stay on-task and focused in both places. Check off jobs as they are completed to maintain a sense of control over life, even on the busiest days. Update the lists daily for a fresh perspective on what needs to be done.
Be Realistic
Often agents overestimate what can be accomplished in a day, resulting in disappointment and setbacks. Be realistic when establishing goals and schedules. For example, scheduling an open house right before a child’s school concert could mean missing the performance. Use common sense whenever possible, to avoid stressful conflicts.
Keep Time Management in Mind
Time is money and a valued commodity to those who crave more personal time to themselves. Use time management tools to make the most of every hour in the day. Keep track of how long it takes to perform specific tasks at work and home to get a better handle on time. Knowing how long it takes to do things is essential to maximize the available time agents have each day. Better Homes and Gardens® Real Estate affiliated agents have access to a full range of time-saving tools to help them build their businesses.
Turn Off Technology
Modern agents need to tap into technology continuously to build their businesses. Interacting on social media, texts, emails, blogging, and more can consume more hours than anticipated. While technology is an integral part of an agent’s thriving business, take an hour or two each day to turn it off. Consider spending a tech-free hour at work and at home to get more done and connect with the people around you.
Get Help
Hiring help is one of the easiest ways to achieve work-life balance. Hire an assistant at work to help with phone calls, paperwork, and digital updates. Consider using helpers such as staging services and cleaning services for open houses. Hire a landscaper, cleaning person, and other help at home, so you can spend more time relaxing after work. Spending money to hire help is a substantial investment in achieving a healthy work-life balance.
Establish Personal Boundaries
Agents should establish personal boundaries that make them comfortable at all times. For example, agents who make themselves available seven days a week will have clients who always expect that availability. Establish realistic personal boundaries that include time-off, vacations, and personal time. Set a time of the evening when texts and calls will be responded to in the morning and stick to it.
Embrace a Flexible Schedule
Agents run their own businesses and often forget they have the advantage of setting their own schedules. Depending on the agent’s lifestyle and other demands, a conventional schedule might sometimes be impossible. For example, a parent can spend the day at a sporting event with the kids then work on a blog and listing descriptions that night. Embracing a flexible schedule helps agents be present in their professional and personal worlds as often as possible, while avoiding time crunches and conflicts.
Selling houses and achieving work-life balance as an agent can be challenging. With the right organizational approach, agents have thriving businesses without giving up the joy in their personal lives.
