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Have you ever noticed the following interesting phenomenon: it’s rare that we would miss an important appointment with a client or colleague, but the same can’t be said for the appointments we schedule with ourselves?
Now it’s easy to quickly identify why that’s the case. In the instance of keeping appointments with clients and colleagues, we have a desire not to let someone down.
We feel compelled to honour that commitment or we risk losing face and potentially damage our professional reputation. As a result, those appointments are firmly on the “must-do” and “can’t-be-missed” list.
Often, however, that non-negotiable attitude isn’t the same when it comes to honouring the commitments we make to ourselves. But it should be. If it’s not, it’s a good indication that we can’t handle the freedom of this industry.
Big drawcard, major challenge
Ask any agent what drew them to real estate and what they love about this career, and chances are the word “freedom” will feature in their response.
There’s freedom to build your own business, set your own hours, create your own opportunities and position the goal posts of success wherever you like.
But the freedom we all desire so much can also be challenging to manage. It takes discipline, accountability and the ability to manage our time.
We’ve all been there
Go on, think about it. What activities have you put off over the past week that you told yourself you would do?
Was it the gym session you committed to as a new year’s resolution? Perhaps it was the 30 minutes of reading a day you skipped because, well you know, life just simply got in the way.
Maybe it was that 10 minutes of meditation you owe yourself for your personal wellbeing, or the 10 calls before 10am that you know you should be doing each and every day.
How often do we start our work week with “do you want to grab a coffee” before we get into it?
And yes, I’m looking in the mirror when I flag that one. The result? Not wanting to miss the opportunity for a chat and a coffee sees me staying back at work just that little bit longer to complete the tasks that would have been done had I not got distracted.
Yes, the freedom of real estate is indeed a challenge for all of us. But it’s also one that can be met and overcome.
The biggest decision you’ll make this week
Over the course of this week and next you will make countless decisions, but the biggest by far is how you spend your time.
To determine how well you’re managing that time, and how you’re “handling the freedom of real estate”, take a look at your diary for the past week or month and consider how often you rescheduled important tasks where you were accountable to no one but yourself.
If that type of inconsistent behaviour is evident, it indicates we need an accountability process in place.
Self-accountability suggestions
Holding yourself accountable to the important tasks you set starts with recognising the types of activities and commitments we have a tendency to reschedule.
Then it’s about implementing strategies that can mitigate this behaviour, which include:
- Goal setting.
- Time management tools such as time blocking and ideal week scheduling.
- A rewards system.
- And perhaps the most effective of all, an accountability buddy.
It’s a game changer
Having accountability buddies and strategies to address the areas of life and work where you struggle to keep on track is a game changer.
So, I ask you, how will you decide to spend your time this week? Can you handle the freedom of real estate and honour the commitments you make to yourself?
If you resolve to manage that freedom well and get non-negotiable about your most important personal tasks, I guarantee your future self will thank you.
Manos Findikakis is the CEO of Agents’Agency.
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