10 Steps to Ruthlessly Accomplish All Your Goals in One Day
It’s no secret: real estate is a hectic job. Paper work. Showings. Buyer drives. Presentations. Your tasks in one day can pull you in many different directions–and make your to-do list seem endless.
Furthermore, like Tony said the other day, “it’s really tough to focus sometimes.”
Is productivity one of your biggest challenges?
If so, let me introduce you to ten ideas that might help you tackle your to-do list in record time–and even leave time to spare so you can do the things you truly love.
1. Create a List
This is a no-brainer. But you’d be surprised at the number of people who don’t do it. They either keep it in their head or simply don’t think they have time to sit down.
If that’s you, you need to know this: starting your day without a list is the main reason you are so busy. Stop now and empty your brain of everything you need to do. Then go to the next idea.
2. Make it short.
Write down no more than 20 items on your daily to-do list. If you really want to challenge yourself, make it less than 10.
Why? When you focus on less you are pouring your energy into the tasks that are most important to your life goals. This is what it means to be ruthless. You’re going to have to make some tough calls. So just do it.
3. Time block.
Roping off certain hours in the day to do a certain task is a popular and successful trick to ruthlessly getting things done.
Imagine from 9 to 11 A.M. you prospect. 12 to 1 visit possible clients. And 2 to 4 P.M. you fill out paperwork. The key is to hang a “Do Not Disturb” sign while you are getting these things done.
4. Eliminate happy talk.
Shun the water cooler. Visit the bathroom at odd hours. Keep your door closed (if you have one). Shut off your email. The point is to avoid falling into idle, unproductive conversation.
5. Lump like tasks.
This is brilliant–and my favorite idea. If you have 3 large tasks and 7 small ones, after you finish your first large task, spend the next hour knocking out two or three of the smaller tasks.
For instance, small tasks could be checking email, walking to the mail box and asking your manager a question. Check out Leo’s fav procrastination hack for help.
Ruthlessly knocking out these small tasks has a secondary reward: they serve as small victories that may encourage you to keep pouring it on.
6. Get up early.
Not an early bird? I know how you feel. I felt the same way for a long time. What I’ve found is that I can regulate my sleeping patterns with a little work. Here’s how.
Let’s say you get out of bed at 8 A. M. But your goal is to be out of bed by 6 A.M. What you need to do is start slowly.
Each week set your alarm clock back 15 minutes. This allows your body to slowly adapt. And in just two months you’ll be an early riser.
And why even get up early you ask? Remember that old Army commercial: “We do more work before 8:30 A.M. than most people do all day.” Now that’s ruthless.
7. Rely less on technology.
Some of you claim that you can do more now than you could ever before because of technology. Agreed.
But let me ask you this? Are those things you are doing important? Do they add to the bottom line? Who maintains it? Upgrades it? Tinkers with it?
All I’m saying is this: simplify. If you can do something with paper and pen, go that route. Avoid feature creep.
8. Plan.
This bears repeating: Map out your days, weeks, months and years. Start from where you want to be in the next ten years. Then work backwards, describing the steps you need to get there.
9. Get your affairs in order.
No, don’t line up your mistresses. Simply schedule certain days or half days where you do nothing but maintenance.
Clean hard and soft files. Add gadgets to your software. Dust your office. Get your car’s oil changed. Anything that you’ve been putting off but needs to get done because it could break down the road.
10. Demand a stop time.
If you really want to be ruthless, you need to clearly define when you will stop.
Why? Imagine a football game that started at 8 A.M. and didn’t finish until midnight when the last player collapsed in exhaustion.
Football players on the gridiron are ruthless because they know this: the game is over in sixty minutes. That time restraint keeps them fiercely focused on their goals.
The same holds true for you. If you know you’ve got a fly fishing or shopping trip planned at 4 P.M., don’t you think you’d be ruthless? I do.
Conclusion
Here’s the deal: being ruthless is all about attitude. It’s a mindset. A determination to get things done.
But if you like flailing about your day, losing your hair, grinding your teeth, fighting ulcers, losing money and breaking up your family–then fine, ignore my advice.
My gut feeling is you’d rather not lose hair, money or family. So make the decision today to be ruthless. And then teach someone else to be ruthless. You’ll reap great rewards.
Leave a comment if this post was helpful or if you have anything you’d like to add. And if you like what you read, subscribe to the Real Estate Marketing Blog.
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