Need To Be More Productive In Your Work?

Mental lint.  It drifts around in your head… all these tiny bits of thought fluff; things to remember to do, to get, to buy, to try.  And just as a clothes dryer works most efficiently when lint-free, so too does your brain, and thus you’re more productive.

Entire books – hundreds, if not thousands -- have been written on the subject, but it really boils down to a few key basics.  It starts with something as simple as a list.  Get those to-dos out of your head and on to a piece of paper where they can be objectively evaluated and prioritized.  Rate each item A, B, or C based on its importance, with A items being those that you attack first.  Before you wrap up each work day, reevaluate and add to and drop from your list as needed, keeping your real priorities front-and-center.

Make sure your big items, i.e. revamp company website, are broken down into multiple small specific tasks that can be accomplished in a few hours or less. It will help you actually reach that bigger goal.

Once you are done, take a step back. Have you left enough wiggle room in your schedule for unforeseen emergencies and interruptions?  One way to ensure you have that wiggle room is to schedule only 50-80% of your work day.  Those days you end up with a free block of time and nothing presents itself, catch up on industry reports, self-education, and big-picture thinking.   

Multitasking is something we all do these days. The problem is our brains just aren’t cut out for it. When you multitask, you’re interfering with your brain’s ability to perform at max-capacity.  Do you know that when you multitask, your IQ drops by an average of 10 points, the equivalent to missing a whole night's sleep; 15 for men, five for women.  Yes, men are three times as bad at multitasking than women.  In most cases, multitasking = lesstasking.  When you make brain shifts from one context to another, you risk dropping things from your short-term memory. Do one thing at a time, minimize context shifts, and you’ll maximize brain power.

Distractions also destroy productivity.  Don’t let something else set your day. Most people go right to their emails and start freaking out. You may end up at inbox-zero, but accomplish nothing else. Set blocks of time each day to check email and pick up incoming calls and set other times when you don’t. Certainly allow for the occasional emergency call but be aware how insidious distractions can be.  You may even want to change your email settings to deliver just two or three times a day. 

The productiveness of any meeting depends on the advance thought given the agenda, and you should never leave a meeting without writing a follow-up list with each item assigned to one person.

Lastly, if you’re an experienced real estate professional, be selective in the deals you choose.  You may love short sales and hate long term rentals.  You may want to just take on listings.  Do what makes you the most money and is also the most enjoyable and then assign the other deals to someone else.  For beginning agents, you should be getting “reps in” by working on any deals until you get over the fears of talking to people, getting contracts signed, managing deal flow, and the like.  It will become clear with time what your preferences are and where your strengths lie.

Follow these tips and you’ll be driving your day in a productive manner, rather than your day driving you (bonkers!).