HOW TO ORGANIZE YOUR REAL ESTATE LIFESTRATEGIES TO GIVE YOU 15 MORE HOURS PER WEEK – OR MORE

Brought to you by: Shauna ZamarripaRE/MAX Realty Advantage

FIRST: CREATE A SCHEDULE

Step 1: Choose the days you are going to work

Step 2: Schedule your days off

Step 3: Create a schedule you can stick to on a calendar Remember, real estate is a vehicle to fund your life aspirations, your passions and your goals. If you

don’t take care of YOU, you can’t take care of your clients.

Step 4: Pick a tool that works for you! Examples:

Backagent calendar – synchs with your Outlook & Phone

Outlook calendar

Daytimer

The Trick is BLOCKING TIME so you have an AMS

HOW TO TIME BLOCK

Time Blocking Example…..

• Step 1: Pick you 3 Most Important Tasks. Writing down and making mental note of my top 3 tasks to get done for the day. (Eat your frogs first)• Example: 1. Prospect until I set one appointment2. Change my voicemail – more on the next slide3. Follow up on all pending emails

• Step 2: Create a WORKABLE task list• How?• Outlook tasks• Gmail tasks• Apps:

• Remember the milk ( http://www.rememberthemilk.com/ )

• Evernote ( https://evernote.com/ )

HOW TO CREATE TASKS IN OUTLOOK

Create a task from the File menu

On the File menu, point to New, and then click Task.

Keyboard shortcut  To create a new task, press CTRL+SHIFT+K.

In the Subject box, type a name for the task.

 NOTE   You have now entered enough information to create a task. The following steps are optional, but will help you better manage your tasks in Outlook.

On the Task tab, in the Actions group, click Save & Close or continue with the following steps to customize your task.

If you want, set the Start date and the Due date for the task.

If you specify a Start date, the Due date field is automatically set to the same day. You can change the Due datefield to any date that you want.

More on: http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/outlook-help/create-tasks-and-to-do-items-HA001229302.aspx

MORE ON CREATING A TASK IN OUTLOOK If you want to make the task recur, on the Task tab, in the Options group,

click Recurrence.

In the Task Recurrence dialog box, click the frequency (Daily, Weekly, Monthly or Yearly) with which the task should recur, and then do one of the following: Make the task recur based on a regular interval     In the Recurrence pattern section, select

the options for the frequency interval that you want. Do not select Regenerate new task, or the task will not recur at regular intervals.

Make the task recur based on completion date     Select Regenerate new task, and in the box, type the amount of time after which a new task must be generated.

Each time that you mark the task complete, a new task will be created based on your specifications.

More on: http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/outlook-help/create-tasks-and-to-do-items-HA001229302.aspx

AND MORE…. Click OK to close the Task Recurrence dialog box.

If you want to add a reminder alert, select the Reminder check box, and then enter the date and time for the reminder.

You can specify a custom sound to be played with your reminder. Click Button Image, click Browse, select the sound file to play, click Open, and then click OK. This changes the reminder sound only for this task.

If you want to track your progress on this task, in the Status, Priority, and % Complete boxes, enter the values that you want.

The Status and % Complete fields are linked. When you change the value in either field, the value in the other field changes accordingly.

More on: http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/outlook-help/create-tasks-and-to-do-items-HA001229302.aspx

CREATE A TASK FROM AN EMAIL

Create a task or a to-do item from an e-mail message

There are several ways to turn an e-mail message into a task or a to-do item.

Do any of the following:

Flag an e-mail message for follow-up

Flagging a message is the best option when you need to quickly mark an item for your attention at a later time. When you flag an item, it is displayed in the Mail view with a flag, in Tasks, in the To-Do Bar, and in the Daily Task List in Calendar. Flagging a message or contact does not create a new task. Because the to-do item still remains an e-mail message or contact after being flagged, you do not have the ability to assign it as a task to someone else, or indicate its progress or percentage of completeness.

In Mail, right-click the flag column for an e-mail message.

Choose the due date.

 TIP   To add a follow-up flag quickly, click the flag column next to the e-mail message. A start date and due date of today are set automatically.

MORE ON TASKS AND EMAIL….

Drag an e-mail message to the To-Do Bar to create a to-do item

The To-Do Bar must be arranged by Start Date or Due date to use these procedures.

Click an e-mail message to select it, and then drag the message to the task list section of the To-Do Bar.

When you see a red line with arrows at each end positioned where you want to place the task, release the mouse button.

LIVE DEMONSTRATION

Sure, it’s great in theory, but as part of this webinar, I will perform a LIVE demonstration on how to do this.

WHAT THE ‘REMEMBER THE MILK’ APP DOES….

WHAT “EVERNOTE” DOES…

ORGANIZATIONAL RULES TO LIVE BY!

Choose one tool and stick with it. Whatever calendar or task tool you use, find one that works for YOU and stick with it!

Do one thing at a time. Hint: To focus, set the timer on your phone for each time block on your activities management

system. Do NOT answer phone calls, texts or emails until that task is done.

Do it now. Prioritize your tasks on your list each day from MOST important (cough, cough prospecting) to least

important.

Make use of the word no. Everyday, based on your schedule, change your voicemail message. (Example on next slide)

WHAT YOUR VOICEMAIL SHOULD SAY

Here is an example of an effective voicemail message:

You have reached the voicemail of <insert your name here>. Today is Wednesday, April 16. I will be in the office from 8:30 am to 5:30 pm. I return calls from 11:30 to 12:00 and from 4:00 to 5:00 each day. Please leave me your name, number and a message and I will return your call during the allotted time. And remember, success is a journey, not a destination.

WHY YOUR VOICEMAIL SHOULD SAY THIS

You are setting yourself up for success.

You are not being reactive to your phone.

You set the right expectations with clients. Example: “When I am with a client or showing property, I want to give whoever is in front of me my

full and undivided attention, just as I am giving that to you now (if you are sitting across from someone). People appreciate this.

This puts you in control of your day and not your phone in control of your life!

SECOND MESSAGE OF THE DAY

Your first task of the day should be to review your schedule.

Your second task should be to change your voicemail to account for that daily schedule.

Your FINAL task of the day is to change your voicemail message once more, at the END of your workday.

(Example on next slide)

END OF DAY VOICEMAIL MESSAGE

“Hi, you have reached <insert your name here> with RE/MAX Realty Advantage. You have reached me after hours. Please leave me a detailed message and I will return your call at <allotted times for the next day here>. And remember, the fastest way to mastery is through order and simplification.”

Unapologetically take control of your time and priorities.

A FEW MORE TIPS AND TRICKS TO GUIDE YOU DOWN THE PATH….

A Place for Everything and Everything in Its Place - By having a designated place for supplies and other frequently used items (and actually using it), you should always be able to quickly and easily locate the things you're looking for.

Toss, Recycle, Donate - Throw out or recycle what doesn't work, and donate what you don't need, don't want, or don't use.

Go Vertical - If you use it often, keep it close. But if you only use it once in a while, Albright says to store it in high or low storage spots to open up the space in between for things you do use often. She suggests shelving, wall baskets, wall-mounted file folders, and wall hooks as great ways to go vertical.

AND MORE…

Label, Label, Label - Labeling not only helps you stay better organized, it also helps others function more independently in your workspace. So Albright suggests that you find an easy-to-use label maker and start labeling!

Create a Meeting Bin - Never can find what you need for a meeting? How about creating a designated bin in your work space devoted to upcoming meetings? Whenever you find something or think of something you're going to need for your next meeting, put it in the bin. Then when the time comes for the meeting, most or all of what you need will be in one place.

Create a Pending Folder - A pending folder helps you clear off your desk and centralize pending projects. Albright suggests having a "pending" email folder as well.

AND MORE….

Keep a Notebook Close By - Have a notebook, call log, or journal to keep a record of telephone messages. You can also use it to jot down important notes and reminders during phone calls. This way you'll have a record of all your calls and conversations in one place.

Get Your Desk in Order Before You Leave - Not only can a disorganized desk become an ongoing source of stress, it can also result in important taks getting lost in the chaos and clutter. Albright says that by tidying up your desk an hour before you leave, you not only may discover a task that got lost in the clutter, you might still have enough time to handle it.

EMAIL ORGANIZATION 101

1.       How many messages are currently in your inbox?  The majority of the people that I ask either really don’t know or don’t want to share the real number.  In order to effectively implement any email organization tips, you must be able to truthfully answer this question and also have a handle on the number of emails that you send and receive daily.  In all probability, you will find that your daily activity is around 115 messages/day which is the average for most business people.  The last bit of data that you should gather is the quantity of read and unread messages currently in your inbox.

TIME TRACKING

2.       Incorporating the Hawthorne Effect in your email management strategy could help increase productivity.  Applying this psychological phenomenon isn’t difficult.  Just start by paying more attention to your email management habits by simply tracking the amount of time spent on email related activities. By simply doing this, you may consciously or subconsciously start to adopt more efficient email habits.

HABITS…

3.       Are the email organization tips that you are currently applying the best ones for you?   It is a good idea to periodically assess your procedures for managing email.  Life happens and business priorities change which may necessitate developing some new habits for keeping the email under control. Be sure to focus on changing only one habit a time, be committed to practicing the new habit daily and accept that habits can take 4 plus weeks before they are ingrained in your daily routine.

NOISE REDUCTION…

With email, productivity can be lost in small chunks of time so the impact may not be immediately apparent Consider that each time the email alert sounds and distracts your attention from the task at hand it will take you 4 minutes to resume work on that task.  If this only happens once or twice during the day, the impact on your productivity is minimal.  However, if this happens 10-15 times a day which is more likely the scenario, these interruptions could have used up 60 minutes of your day.

In other words, just as you allot time to return calls, allot a time block to return emails.

You can do this once a day or twice a day. Choose something that is effective for you.

YES, ORGANIZATION TAKES TIME…

It is going to take you some time to transform disorderly into order.

Make that priority number one each day…to start organizing your life.

It will take twice as long to get organized as it did to become disorganized in the first place.

Yes, it will be painful, but it will be worth it in the end.

IF YOU SAVE….

If organization saves you 15 hours per week

For 45 weeks per year =

675 hours

or

28 days of your life back!

What will you spend your extra time on?