8 Work-life Balance Tips for Real Estate Agents

As you well know, real estate is a fast-paced, performance-driven career. So, it’s no wonder many agents struggle with work-life balance.

Perhaps you do as well?

If that’s the case, it’s worth doing something about it. As Rob Errera writes in the Toner Buzz blog, the better your work-life balance, the more productive, energetic, and effective you’ll be.

In fact, productivity and work-life balance go hand-in-hand. So, when you make improvements in both those areas, you’re likely to enjoy your career more, generate and convert more real estate leads, and achieve more successes for you real estate clients.

If those aren’t enough reasons to prioritize work-life balance, nothing is! So, with that in mind, here are some practical strategies worth trying.

1. Eat that Frog! In Brian Tracy’s bestselling book, he recommends scheduling the most challenging tasks and appointments first rather than putting them off for later. That way, you gain a sense of accomplishment early in the day, which gives you a significant lift.
2. Create buffers What are the chances something will come up today that is unexpected and likely to require your time? Probably 100%! And whatever that may be, you might have to sacrifice personal time to deal with it. That’s a work-life balance killer. So, when scheduling your day, expect the unexpected. Block out “buffers” in your calendar. For example, an extra 10 minutes before and after appointments.
3. Beware the to-do monster To-do items tend to accumulate throughout the workday. You get a few client emails, a couple of prospecting leads, a message from the office. Before you know it, there’s a long list of call-backs and emails you need to do. Don’t let that “To-do Monster” grow too big! Commit to getting these tasks done throughout the day.
4. Tame the tech As a busy real estate agent, you’re constantly on the move, on your phone, online. So, during personal time — with your family, for example — unplug as much as possible. Don’t let your phone and email rule your life. Take some time each day away from the tech.
5. Ride your peak energy times Are you a morning person? Or do you peak later in the day? Most people have specific times when they’re most productive and energetic. Pay attention to your “productivity rhythm” and schedule accordingly. For example, if you’re an “after lunch” person, schedule an important listing presentation for the early afternoon.
6. Take real time off Most professionals in performance-driven careers have difficulties taking time off. Usually, a day off ends up being just a slower-paced version of a working day. That’s no time off at all. Instead, try to take real days off free of all work-related activities. That way, when you come back to work, you’ll feel rejuvenated.
7. Automate Your real estate marketing can be a time-consuming chore if you let it. Do you sometimes have trouble keeping up with all the real estate marketing tasks that need to get done? If so, embrace real estate marketing automation as much as possible. The more automated your real estate marketing is, the less time it will demand of you. You’ll see better results, too.
8. Get it done for you In addition to automation, try to get as much of your real estate marketing done for you as possible. After all, you want to be chatting with prospects and working with clients, not coming up with blog and social media posts. The best way to do that is with a real estate marketing system where most of the marketing “heavy lifting” is done for you. That frees up more time for your career — and your personal life.

Next step: Risking burnout won’t help your career. So, consider trying some of these work-life balance strategies this week.