Time Management Tips for Commercial Real Estate Agents

In commercial real estate today, you have to set some rules in time management and then stick to them.  Your time is the greatest resource that can help you move ahead.

It is a fact that many agents struggle with the whole time and control process.  They give in to the pressures of clients, peers, listings, and the office.  Exactly who is in control here anyway?

So why do you need to control your time?  For one simple reason; everyone around you will want some of your time, and at the end of the working day you could have achieved very little that is important to your business growth as an agent.

So here are some time management tips:

1. You will know that there are 3 things that really matter as an agent.  They are your prospecting, your clients and your listings.   Everything else revolves around those 3 things.  Setting priorities in your working day is therefore really important.
2. Create key habits that can allow you to get to the 3 things mentioned earlier.  Habits are critical to taking you forward; it is the things that you do every day that will change your business outlook and market share.
3. The circadian cycle or biological clock says that you are most effective between 7 am and 11 am.  There is also a second window of time between 3pm and 6 pm that is useful.  How do you use your resources in these windows of time?  Quite clearly you should be doing your prospecting during the early part of the day.
4. When you start something you are good for about 2 hours before you will want a break.  Build short breaks into your working day so you can keep up the momentum.
5. When you get into something new, it takes about 20 minutes to lock into the issue and get some momentum.  If someone interrupts you, the clock resets.  This is the single most common reason for lack of focus in a busy real estate office; people are distracting each other most of the day.  They then cannot get the traction and focus on important things.
6.  A computer based diary is convenient, but a written daily diary is essential if you want to focus your efforts.  It is a fact that people need to write things down to figure out a way of doing them.  A daily dairy will help you do that.
7. Prioritize everything that you do.  Only do the important stuff first.  Don’t let small and convenient things take you away from the issues that matter.

So how are you going to do all of this?  With focus and diligence you can get there.  It’s all up to you.