At the networking last night we talked a lot about having focus. Then this morning as I sit at my desk I have a window open on my computer to order a Christmas gift, a camera hooked up to download photos on a house, a house file on my desk to look up comps, the MAREI schedule on my desk to work on next years meetings.
I need focus, and when I come back to what I did in a previous life it comes down to making a list. Sit down at the end of the day and write out everything you want to accomplish tomorrow and prioriize. Then the next morning, review, start at the top and mark off as you go. Then at the end of the evening, go through your list, see what you accomplished, mark it off, and plan out the next day.
This really works well for me, but of course when life happens through out the day, you need to decide, do you write the new life issues on the list for tomorrow or deal with them as they come. I am unfortunatly a deal with them as they come, even if they are interrupting something more important. And I know I need to work on this, keep focused on the project at hand and add the little fires that need delt with to the list to look at at least after I am finished with my current project.
What do you think? Please comment and let me know how you stay focused or not and what works for you.
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All of the projects often have equal validity. Norman Vincent Peale used to recommend housecleaning method of 'start in one corner and work your way around.' I apply that to my list of projects. Things that are time sensitive come first as in earlier, not necessarily importance.
ReplyDeleteDo I do it all the time? Are you kidding?
Definitely a critical topic for anybody, but especially for investors. Real estate investing, by nature, lacks a structured time schedule so it can be easy to drift from one project to the next.
ReplyDeleteThe first thing to do is make a detailed daily schedule with blocks of time for both personal and business items. Here's an example Monday and you would obviously want to tailor the schedule to your needs and resources.
7-8: Breakfast, shower, get ready for work
8-9: Education
9-10: Follow up on leads being worked on
10-11: Marketing
11-12: Evaluate deals
12-12:30 Lunch
12:30-1:30 Work on the business
1:30-3:00 Follow up calls/appointments
3:00-4:00 Pay Bills/write checks/QuickBooks
4-5: Prospecting
5-7: Workout
7-8: Dinner
8:00 Plan out next day
11:00 Bedtime
Have at least an hour or two each day where you turn the phone off and close the office door so there are no distractions. During this time limit yourself to one important projec. This will allow you to develop some momentum towards completing the project.