Becoming successful in real estate requires time, effort and consistency. Those within the industry often find themselves time poor, and thinly stretched over a number of tasks. Luckily, there are a number of tips and tricks to improve your productivity and regain a healthy work/life balance.

1. Track Your Time

The key to becoming successful is to utilise each day efficiently. The difference between surviving agents and thriving agents is often a direct result of how they organise their day and choose to spend their spare time. There several habits you can easily adopt as a real estate agent to get the most out of each day and boost your productivity.

Many of us are under a false pretence that we are maximising our time. After analysing our day-to-day, it becomes apparent that perhaps we may not be as productive as we imagined.

The first step to improving your time management is to understand how you are currently spending your time. The easiest method to do this is by tracking it. There are no rules when it comes to tracking, it can be as brief or as thorough as you like. The ultimate goal of time tracking is to learn more about yourself and your habits, both good and bad.

From the time you wake up to the time you go to bed, record your day in 30 minute increments, noting what activity you are undertaking. Do this over the course of a week, then at weeks' end, take a look back and evaluate how you spent that time. Did you have more or less dead time than expected? Utilise that wasted time to improve yourself and your business.

2. Plan Your Day the Night Before

The importance of planning and goal setting can't be overstated. It one of the most effective things you can do to prepare yourself for success, this includes both short and long term planning.

Long term planning and goal setting is useful to create a pipeline of what you would like your future to look like. A long term goal is inspiring and often helps guide the smaller goals and helps to form a plan of action.

Planning is very personal, and the most effective form of planning changes from person to person. Some people may prefer weekly planning while others work better on a month-to-month basis. No matter what type of goal setter you are, all real estate agents and vendors can benefit from planning out your day the night before.

Pre-planning your day night before can help you feel more prepared and focused when waking up in the morning. This preparation might include outlining the tasks you need to complete and prioritising them. It may also be a logistics-based plan, in which you look at where you need to be and when. Without a plan, you are more likely to feel overwhelmed, or be distracted by other people or tasks which are thrown your way.

3. Prioritise Your Tasks

Unfortunately is it impossible to be at your very best and 100% focused throughout the entire work day. Many people find that they perform best in the morning, and that their performance decreases throughout the day. Others still feel sleepy first thing in the morning and feel that their best work occurs in the afternoon.

It's important to know yourself and understand what works best for you. Some people immerse themselves in their creative work in the morning, and leave the monotonous tasks for their post-lunch slump. Others will allocate their most important, focused-based tasks in the afternoon because it's when they perform best.

Understanding your own body clock, and when you are most productive and able to produce quality work is key. Know which of your tasks need the most brain capacity and attention to detail, and do those when you're at your most productive.

From the plan you've created the night before, you'll have a better understanding of which tasks are most important to you and your business. This will help you decide which tasks to tackle when you are feeling focused. Make the most of the slumps you experience throughout the day and use that time for the more mundane tasks you need to complete, such as checking emails.

By tailoring your day to suit your output levels for different times of the day, you are less likely to feel frustrated, and more likely to be productive.

4. Automate & Delegate

When you first start your business or career, it is your responsibility to take care of everything. As you become more established, you may find that the workload becomes too much.

The ability to automate tasks saves business owners and operators an incredible amount of time and money. While automating can be costly, it often pays for itself with the amount of labour saved. This saved time is now able to be rediverted, and spent on other projects which will increase revenue.

Delegating is another great way to save time. Delegating also offers the benefit of decreasing the emotional load that comes with owning and operating a business as an individual.

Mundane tasks which don't actively build you business or generate revenue are the easiest to remove yourself from. If you can't automate it, delegate it. Consider outsourcing where you can, or hiring an assistant on a casual basis if needed. This will save you some time and allow you to invest your time into the areas that matter the most.

5. Use Technology to Your Advantage

In recent years, the technology available to real estate agents has grown considerably. There is ever-expanding number of tools available within prop tech to help you manage and grow your business.

These technologies such as CRM platforms, assist in making you more productive and better at your job.  Learn more about the VaultRE CRM in this quick demo video.

The ability to understand and adapt to new technology allows you to stay on the pulse of the industry.

6. Look After Yourself

Real estate is a very competitive industry and in order to excel, you need to have high levels of energy and focus. Studies have shown that burnout can easily occur in those who don't adopt a work/life balance.

Without this balance, you risk burnout which leads to poorer sales and is not sustainable for a long period of time. Customers are attracted to vibrant and happy people, particularly in the real estate industry. For this reason, it's important to look after yourself and make choices that leave you feeling healthier and happier. This benefits your career, as well as your personal wellbeing.