Whenever I ask real estate agents about how they spend their downtime most laugh and playfully say "what downtime?" I get it. Real estate is hardly a 9-5 and often when we escape long enough to actually have downtime we either struggle to actually unplug or we want to unplug so much that we lose all productivity. But what if I told you there was a happy medium you could reach? Because get this...there is!
When we're overworked, over scheduled and overtired it is easy to struggle with productivity. I know, that seems like a double negative - overworked and unproductive? But here is the truth, without the right amount of time to recoup and relax - we are no where near as effective as we can be. Think about it like this...if I work out at the gym to the point of straining a muscle that is my body's way of telling me that I overworked that muscle. If I continue to work through the pain - I may risk injury, more time off, and ultimately even reverse any progress I have made. However, if I take the time to work out, rest, hydrate, and do some low impact workout that doesn't provide as much stress to my muscle - I can make huge strides when it comes to my fitness. Although this example refers to physical fitness, I believe mental fitness works the exact same way. If we work to the point of exhaustion, confusion, or even mistakes - we have overworked our bodies - even strained them. Continuing to push through has negative impacts on our health, our business, and even our clients. Your clients deserve better than that. You deserve better than that.
But what happens when the opposite occurs? If we completely disconnect and leave nothing to plans - we aim for calmness, but risk complacency. These are the times when we so badly need to rest and recharge, but instead end up binging on Netflix and compromising all semblance of productivity. Again...your clients lose and you lose.
So how can you strike that balance where you can gain that much needed recharge, yet not give up your treasured productivity. Well, the best tip is to try and find anchor activities for your down time. The mistake most people make is anchoring their downtime with work activities such as email, transactional communication, or even a small window of showings. This is counterproductive because we all know it can quickly snowball out of control. Instead, anchoring your downtime with short, planned, non-work related activities. Great ideas for this are lunch dates, visits to a museum or park, exercising or hiking, etc. Having these short planned activities prevent our brains from falling into a trap of Netflix binging, yet give us the much needed relax and recharge that our bodies so deeply need.
As a coach, I clearly believe in peak production - but a big part of that is committing to be the best version of yourself. While you need to hustle and grind, the need to recharge cannot be ignored. If it is, you will undoubtedly burnout or worse - suffer the health impacts of a non-stop schedule. This summer, it is common to have some downtime, make sure you make the most of it and anchor yourself in a productive mindset. You won't regret it.