5 Ways to Stick to Your Daily Schedule
Do you have trouble sticking to your daily schedule? Don’t sweat it too much! Most real estate pros have a really tough time sticking to the schedule because we get pulled in so many different directions. Imagine that you are heading to an important office meeting with your team and then suddenly you get a call about a leak or a missing house key at one of your listings, your day and the schedule are derailed!
Don’t fret too much. The key is to always focus on progress over perfection and these 5 tips for sticking to a schedule may help you do just that!
5 Ways to Stick to Your Daily Schedule
Use a Daily Planner
If you get into the habit of having one diary or planner for everything – then you stand much more chance of getting things done without overwhelm setting in. You are, after all, only one person – so it stands to reason that you have one set amount of time available – and to be able to see that at a glance, all in one place – just makes sense.
Plan Before You Do
Now you’ve got a planner, the next thing is to make it a habit to look at it each evening and morning – and KEEP IT UP TO DATE every day. When you can take 5 minutes to see what’s happening tomorrow, and in future days – and 5 minutes in the morning before the day starts – then you’re much more likely to be able to fit all that you have planned into your day.
Create the Right Schedule for Your Lifestyle
It sounds obvious, but all too often we find that we are trying to make other people’s schedules work for us – and as we are all unique with unique circumstances, this is a recipe for disaster most of the time. For example, if you are not an early riser, don’t schedule exercise in the morning. Be realistic about your lifestyle and what will and can work for you.
Be Proactive, Not Reactive
When you’re trying to stick to any type of schedule, it’s all too easy to be knocked off track by life, particularly real estate life. Stuff happens. And of course – sometimes these things really are more important than sticking to your schedule – like if a child fell ill or your friend needed help of some sort.
Really focus on what we need to do, instead of being reactive and get distracted by other things—a last-minute invitation for tacos and margaritas instead of finishing your direct marketing, for example. Only when we clearly see ourselves being swayed from our schedules will we be able to move back on course, and make that schedule work.
Focus on Progress Over Perfection
If, though, life really gets in the way—maybe you’re ill or have a personal emergency—then don’t beat yourself up about it. The worst thing to do is feel like you’ve failed because that negative mindset will work against you every time. Also worth remembering here is that your schedule should be looked at as your ideal, rather than your absolute. Focus on progress over perfection.
Remember This
We have a tendency to beat ourselves up for not sticking to our schedules, and then we give up because perhaps for 1-2 days we were not successful.
The trick is to know that your schedule is realistic, and then keep going back to it until it becomes more habitual and you don’t have to think about it as much anymore.
If you have a bad day, start again tomorrow. If you have another bad day, start the day after that. Each new day is a new beginning and can be the start of something fantastic if you give it a chance!
Remember that Pipeline Planner is designed to help real estate pros stick to their schedule. More affordable than a few cups of coffee at Starbucks, it might be worth a try. Check it out today!