5 Work-life Balance Tips for Busy Real Estate Agents
According to surveys, real estate agents tend to be much happier with their careers compared to typical workers. To succeed in such a competitive industry, however, many have to make sacrifices that compromise their well-being. Work-life balance is something that can easily get swept aside when business gets busy. If you’re a real estate agent who struggles to step away from work, keep reading for actionable tips you can use to take back control.
Stay on top of tasks. When small tasks pile up, they can weigh on you and make you feel more stressed. For instance, if you fail to respond to emails in a timely fashion, you could feel overwhelmed by the end of the day or week. Make your life simpler by staying on top of your daily tasks. Set aside a block of time to file documents, answer voicemails and update your calendar. If you just spend 15 to 30 minutes a day on smaller issues, you can keep things from piling up and reduce the stress associated with unfinished tasks.
Set reasonable boundaries. While highly effective agents are willing to give their full attention to clients, no one can truly be available 24 hours a day. Make sure to clearly communicate your office hours on your website and business cards. Nothing can ruin your family or social time like an unexpected phone call that pulls you away from a movie, picnic or dinner. If you have especially important clients, you can give them your personal 24/7 number; however, this should be exclusive to only your most valuable clients.
Adjust your expectations. Many inexperienced agents enter the real estate business thinking they will make six figures while working whenever they want. Most are disappointed to find that success is dependent on long hours and lots of sacrifices. When figuring out a healthy work-life balance, real estate agents have to set realistic expectations. Allow yourself to be less than perfect, while still working hard to achieve your goals when – and only when – you are at work. While it is important to build leads and make sales, you can’t be at your best if you become consumed by your work. Be sure to give yourself a regular day or two off every week, and spend that time doing what you love with the people you love.
Get some help. While many agents take pride in their ability to juggle a wide range of tasks; this can get overwhelming. To be a successful real estate professional, you need to maximize your time so you can provide exceptional service to every client. Even if you relish your independence, you can still hire an administrative assistant or virtual assistant to manage your website and database, update your listings, submit paperwork, create reports and handle data entry. This can make your business function better, while giving you time to focus on family, hobbies, exercise and all the things that make a life well lived.
Make adjustments as needed. An unbalanced life leads to stress and anxiety. However, it’s virtually impossible to achieve perfect balance with every part of your life. Sometimes, work must take precedence over family and other times, family must take precedence over work. You should consistently try to achieve as much balance as possible between your career, family, hobbies, physical health and mental well-being. If you find that one area is stealing from another, see if you can tweak things to create get back in sync.
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