Being a successful real estate agent requires a healthy mix of self-motivation and discipline. It can be difficult to manage your time and effort — especially when you’re just starting out. There is a lot of competition in the marketplace in 2023, but with determination and devotion, you can begin to set yourself apart from the other real estate agents in your area.
Here are 8 key ways real estate agents can improve their time management this year to grow their sales and become more successful.
1. Practice healthy habits
As a real estate agent, your schedule can be unpredictable. It’s easy to get stressed when rushing between back-to-back appointments or working late and rising early. It’s important to also focus on your health to ensure you’re well-rested and focused on your daily tasks.
When you’re tired, overworked and your health is suffering, you’re bound to make mistakes or not show up as the best version of yourself. Your performance could suffer, as a result.
Try to create a stable bedtime and stick to it — getting enough sleep can help set the foundation for the rest of your day.
2. Create a block schedule
With an unpredictable daily calendar, creating any type of schedule may seem like a pipe dream. But a block schedule can be extremely useful to anyone with irregular working hours.
To get started, you’ll want to build blocks into your day to ensure you can accomplish any work tasks, personal tasks or other responsibilities as needed. Block out this time on your calendar, and don’t worry if your schedule looks different from day to day.
Be sure to account for personal time, so you’re able to take a break, keep your home in order and still remain productive.
3. Master that morning routine
No matter how chaotic your life as a real estate agent is, a baseline morning routine can help you start your day off on the right foot. A morning routine doesn’t have to be complicated, but it should allow you to wake up, eat a healthy breakfast and prepare for the day ahead.
This could look like a simple 10-minute meditation or walk around the block before making yourself a healthy meal or smoothie. From there, you can plan out the rest of your day, making sure you have enough time to complete all of your tasks, and rescheduling anything that doesn’t fit within your schedule.
Be sure to review any home showings or meetings with prospective buyers or sellers you have that day. This can be especially helpful if you work from home, and helps signal to your body that it’s time to get into work mode.
4. Set goals every day
When planning out your day, you want to set goals. What do you need to accomplish before the day ends? Some days this may be as simple as reaching out to a certain number of clients, while other days it might mean working on specific real estate contracts or holding a certain number of home showings.
Make sure you have an idea of what you want to accomplish before you start your day — this will help you stay focused and on task.
5. Work smarter
You don’t have to manage every part of your real estate business on your own. You could hire an assistant, use tools such as Monday.com to stay organized or find freelance help on sites such as Fiverr or Upwork. Use the right real estate websites and tools to help you stay updated on the latest trends and provide your clients the best service.
Figure out what tasks you enjoy the least — or those that take you the longest — and see if there are smart ways to outsource them so you can maximize your time doing the right things to grow your real estate business.
6. Lean on other real estate professionals
Even if you work on your own, consider networking with other real estate agents or brokers in your area. In some cases, it could even make sense to partner with another agent or work for a broker to gain access to resources you might not already have.
Simply talking to other agents or even taking on a mentor can help you learn crucial tips and tricks to improve your productivity during the day while boosting your sales.
7. Limit your screen time
Yes, most real estate agents operate online these days, but spending too much time on your laptop or smartphone can easily eat into your working hours. Try automating social media posts by scheduling them in advance. Pick a time of day to answer emails so you don’t get sucked into scrolling mindlessly multiple times throughout the day.
You’ll need to be available online and may need your phone handy to answer calls and texts, but try to minimize the amount of time you spend online during the day — it could become more of a time-waster than you realize.
8. Prioritize your tasks
As an agent, it can feel like you have a million things to do. Start by planning out your responsibilities and categorizing them into tasks that are urgent and tasks that aren’t. The tasks that aren’t urgent can be rescheduled or even delegated out. In some cases, you might find they’re not particularly important tasks and they can be skipped.
Focus on your urgent tasks for the day and spend some time scheduling out the tasks that aren’t urgent, so you can tackle them at a less hectic time.
The bottom line
Working as a real estate agent can be rewarding — you get to manage your own schedule and serve as your own boss. Maximize your day so you can work smarter, not harder and allow yourself to remain more organized and relaxed to earn more money in commission.