Productivity can be a challenge for anyone, no matter what your job title, but few experience productivity challenges more than real estate agents. From working with home sellers to filling out paperwork and getting inquiries from people shopping around for a new home, it’s easy to feel like you’re always being pulled in a million directions without actually getting the chance to focus.
You aren’t at the mercy of random events that happen throughout your day! You can take control of your productivity and prioritize your day the way you want with the tips on this list.
Use the Right App
Apps have made it easier than ever for home buyers to start shopping around for a new house. That’s both a good and a bad thing. It isn’t uncommon for some people to look around for a new home without actually being prepared to make a purchase. You can end up wasting a lot of time communicating with people who aren’t serious about purchasing a home quite yet.
Using the right app can help a lot. For example, the white label app from HomeStack allows brokerage agents to use backend analytics to prioritize leads and communicate more effectively with prospects and clients. That way you can use actual data to decide who you want to talk to, when, and what you want to say.
Your prospects and clients will thank you for using a great app too! A great real estate app can tell clients exactly what they want to know about properties they are interested in, and it can give them the chance to reach out when they are serious about learning more about a property.
Save Important Tasks for When You Feel the Most Productive
Are you a morning or a night person? Or maybe you don’t feel like you’re either? There are other types too! Some people are afternoon types, while nappers may have early morning and early evening alertness.
It doesn’t matter when you feel the most productive, but it is important to get real about when you feel like you’re at your best so you can take advantage of that time. That’s when you should work on important tasks that require your attention. For example, you may want to draw up important paperwork when you’re feeling alert first thing in the morning, but save answering emails until the afternoon when you know you feel sluggish.
Focus Your Attention
Whether you’re working at your peak or you’re trying to get a few things done during the before-lunch-slump, it’s important to minimize distractions. That can be especially difficult for real estate agents because there are always many things going on at the same time!
You can get more done when you focus, which means doing things like turning off social media notifications, exiting out of your email, and turning your phone on silent. Whether you do it for 10 minutes or you can eliminate these kinds of distractions for hours at a time, you’ll find that you can get more done because you’re better able to focus.
Create and Stick to Your Routines
It’s easy to fall into the habit of doing things as they come up when you are a real estate agent. That will make you feel like you spend your waking hours putting out fires instead of actually getting things done. Increase your productivity by creating and sticking to routines.
Routines enable you to maximize your time, they help you reach your goals, and they can help keep you from burning out. The question is, what kind of routines should you develop?
A few routines to work on include:
- Morning routine before you get started on work
- Routine for lunch that enables you to eat—and nothing else
- Specific times throughout the day when you tackle certain tasks
- Nighttime routine that gets you ready to go to sleep
Streamline How You Communicate
As a real estate agent, you spend a lot of your time during the day communicating with others. Is how you communicate working for you? Or do you find yourself frustrated because you feel like you’re wasting a lot of time?
It’s a good idea to streamline how you communicate. For example, if you prefer email to phone calls, find ways to encourage others to communicate with you through email. If you find dealing with emails to be a pain, find ways to make it more efficient. If you prefer text messages, let your clients know. The more you can communicate in ways that are simple and easy for you, the easier it is to say what you want to say and move on with your day.
Plan Ahead When Showing Homes
Showing homes has the potential to be one of the most stressful parts of the job. Do yourself a favor and plan ahead.
Do you know exactly how to get there? Would your clients benefit from getting directions to make sure they can find the property? Is there a place for you and your clients to park, or do you need to reserve a few spots? Getting everything ready to go can reduce stress and provide your clients with a positive experience, making them more likely to buy.
Step Away From Work
The answer to being more productive isn’t spending more time working. You will actually be more productive if you take breaks. One study found that for every 52 minutes worked, you should take a 17-minute break.
You should also make time to step away from work in the evening, as well as the weekends. That means stepping away from your phone and not looking at your email until you’re ready to go back to work. It will make you feel more energized and you’ll get more done when you do clock in.
Productivity doesn’t have to be elusive if you’re a real estate agent. Although it may not come naturally to the position, there are many things you can do to get more done during the day without having to put in more hours.
