The Importance of Self-Care for Real Estate Agents

As a real estate agent, do you relate to the following?

• You are available for clients 24/7
• While working, you accept calls from clients that take a lot of time, rather than letting them know you will contact them later.
• You work 7 days a week. Maybe not all day, yet every day.
• You don’t know how to say no, as you are a people pleaser and always want to help others. (Thereby neglecting yourself.)

There’s an excitement buzzing in the air as 2020 approaches.  A brand-new year filled with new beginnings awaits you, and how well you take time for yourself will greatly determine the level of your fulfillment. Remember, success and happiness are not measured only by the income you produce. Quality of life includes your health, family and friends. Are you ready?

Self-Care Rituals That Can Increase Success and Happiness

1. Hydrate – It is more than just drinking water!

Most people think of hydration as how much liquid they drink each day. But did you know that you can drink water, soda, coffee and smoothies, and still be dehydrated? According to a survey, 75 – 80% of Americans are chronically dehydrated. By the time you feel thirsty, you are already dehydrated.

As a real estate agent, working with people, in and out all day long, it is important to stay hydrated. Because high sodium intake can cause dehydration, consider adding lemon to your water or electrolytes to make sure you are staying hydrated. And drink regularly instead of waiting until you are thirsty. When you are thirsty, your body is already telling you that you are depleted.

2. Time–Block Your Day

In the real estate business, things are thrown at you each day. What started out as a planned-out day could easily turn into handling clients demanding your time at that very instant. Or it could be family issues that arise unexpectedly.

One of the greatest lessons taught by my highly organized manager decades ago was to time-block your day, and to include tasks in that time-block. You know, that task list that stays incomplete despite all the great apps you use? Yes, include those tasks when you time-block.

Time-blocking helps you to stay focused on one thing at a time, and it is not just for your business. Time-blocking is for your life.

Morning Example:

• Wake up- 6am
• Journal – 6:30
• Exercise: 7am – 8am
• Breakfast: 8-8:30am
• Check e-mails 8:30- 9am
• Prospecting – 9am -11am
• Follow-up with database -11am -12noon

The idea is to schedule so you can optimize the time in your life; this way, you are not feeling rushed and anxious throughout the day. Yes, things happen, yet when you begin to do time-block, you begin to see the areas in your life that you can improve upon.

And every 30 minutes or so, get up and move. It will have you stay re-energized for the day. The days of getting everything done right now may be a thing of the past. Now it is about getting to the place where those things that must be done are completed, and the rest is put on your schedule to be completed at a later date.

3. Set Boundaries

Are you accepting calls from clients at midnight? If there is something urgent that needs to be addressed and that client is overseas, that can be understandable. But midnight? Can it wait until the morning?

If you set yourself up as the agent that is available at your client’s beck and call, that is how you they will treat you. Unfortunately, the demands that makes on your health and your relationships can be huge. One of the greatest things that you can do as a real estate agents is to create value for yourself by establishing boundaries at the beginning.

When you value yourself, everyone will value you also. Once you establish boundaries in your communications with clients, you will be amazed on how your business will be transformed. The fear that you had of losing that client because you were not available at that very moment will be a thing of the past. And you can rejoice because you have your life back again.

4. Budget

Not having a consistent steady income can cause a lot of stress. Being in a commission-based business has its ups and downs so working with both a business and personal budget can create more freedom in your life. There are some apps available to get you started:

• Mint
• YNAB (You Need A Budget)
• Personal Capital- For Your Investments

Also, consider working with a financial planner or investment advisor to plan for you future. The interesting thing about budgeting is that it gives you more control of your money instead of living in fear of not having enough. It gives you the ability to budget for the things that are important on a monthly basis. Budgeting includes both business and personal items. Budgeting is about living in the present and not waiting until you make enough money to live the life that you dreamed about, which is why you went into real estate.

5. Make Sure You Are Getting Enough Sleep

According to the National Sleep Foundation, we spend up to one third of our lives asleep. Everyone has a different need for the amount of sleep required to function optimally. The problem is that the demand on our time is so great, that getting optimal sleep can be an issue and puts us into “sleep debt.”

This is what the latest research shows as the sleep we need:

• 18-64 – Recommended sleep is between 7-9 hours
• 65+ – The new recommended sleep range is 7-8 hours

To operate at your best in all aspects of your life, go to sleep and wake-up at the same time each day, and when possible, keep your phone turned off. When you make sleep a priority, renewed vigor will keep you happier, healthier and more productive.

6. Reward Yourself

 Rewarding yourself when you meet or exceed your goals is your own lottery ticket. The catch sometimes happens for newer agents when the expectations are set too high to achieve.  Goals don’t have to be huge to celebrate. The beauty of rewarding yourself comes in when you do something for those smaller milestones you reach.  It can be keeping your promises for the week on prospecting and following-up with clients. It is up to you. The important thing to remember is that rewarding yourself is an act of self-love that will enrich your life. As an example, your reward can range from dining at your favorite restaurant to going on that fabulous trip you have dreamed about for years. Or having a day at a spa!

When you follow the above steps, they all lead you up. And it all begins with self-care!

Written for Form Simplicity by Janice Zaltman, a Realtor, LEED AP, Marketing Coach and Writer with more than 20 years of experience in the sales, marketing and media fields.