I Broke This and I Fixed That

Everyone I know is busy and are always playing catch up. I know because I too fall into this trap from time to time. Just because you’re busy doesn’t always mean your accomplishing what’s important in the life you’re trying to design.

Back in February I broke my leg and could no longer drive. Probably the worst thing that could ever happen to a Real Estate agent. “How can I get what needs to be done while being on the sideline for the next 3-4 months?” was the question I asked myself.

I’m a strong believer that everything happens for a reason but how could a broken leg have a positive outcome? Here we are 6 weeks later and here’s what happened:

We launched:

• Deep Pockets – our new private lending company
• Podcasts onto iTunes, Spotify and Stitcher
• Facebook Live for our Mastermind Events
• Social Events for our SHC Members and clients

I didn’t realize slowing things down by breaking my leg would allow me to become more productive over the last several weeks. Here are the top 5 things I’ve done to become more productive and less busy.

1. Have a to-do list Journal for things that MUST get done today

Now the most important word is MUST! Most people will sit down and make the list of things they need to get done but keep adding and adding and adding until the list becomes overwhelming that they don’t know where to start. Here’s what you need to do Make your list for the day, pick the top 3 things, put an asterisk beside it and avoid all distractions until they are done.

My personal example for the first week of April 2019

• Newsletter *                                                                                                                                                    
• Podcast *
• Start taxes
• Promote fast start
• Upload Podcast *
• New Mailbox for rental property

2. Have a White Board in Your Office

This is probably one of the best things I’ve ever done. My whiteboard outlines my personal and business goals for the year. What do you write on your whiteboard? Simply outline what you want to accomplish for the year and the month you want to achieve your goal by. The to-do list (discussed above) is what gets me closer to my goals.

 3. Time Block for Emails

Emails are the to do list for other people. One of the biggest issues I had in the beginning was working on my emails all day. I would do this when ever I felt overwhelmed. By the end of the day I was super busy, accomplished a lot of work but those were other peoples to do list. Today, I time block and only open my emails 2-3 times a day and get everything done within that window.

4. Schedule Time for Thinking

Most of the time people run from task to task and problem to problem. My time for thinking is right before I go to bed for about an hour and first thing in the morning. During these times, I’m listening to Podcasts, reading books or meditating. This is the most important time for me to realign what’s truly important in my day to day life and to learn from some of the best in the industry and my mentors.

 5. Say “no”

Really think about where you can cut back. When you say “YES” to something you are saying “NO” to something else. Choose what you want to accomplish wisely. Saying yes to everything will have you working on everyone else’s goals but your own.

Focus on doing fewer things better. At the end of the day, there will always be endless amounts of work and incomplete tasks. We all have the same 24 hours in a day, use it wisely.

Gary Hibbert