Am I doing enough?
It’s the question that haunts moms. It’s the question that haunts business owners.
As a mom and a real estate agent, how do you know if you’re doing enough? And not just enough to pay the bills, enough to support your family, your friendships, your relationship, your business, and yourself?
It’s impossible to give each of these aspects of your life the exact same amount of attention week to week. Nothing is ever going to be perfect. It’s always a little chaotic. But you do have to make sure that you have an eye on every spoke of your wheel of life, and that you’re doing the most important things to maintain it all.
You’ve probably heard of the 80/20 principle, the idea that 80% of your rewards come from 20% of your efforts. These are the efforts that get you traction. Traction is the opposite of flailing.
So what are those 20% activities that you should be doing, and how many of them do you need to be doing to make it?
Here’s what I’ve found are the most important habits for a successful mom and real estate agent:
🤝 Attended good networking events.
You don’t get that many kudos for attending an event, but it is important. Getting in the door is essential. What you do while there is even more important.
🧠 30 minutes of learning, motivation, or enrichment.
You should be, daily, daily, daily, growing your brain. This is your investment in your capacities and your personal badassery.
💅Outsourced something.
You can’t do it all, so you have to rely on other people to handle some of life’s tasks for you. You don’t change your own oil, do you? So why feel sheepish about paying someone to handle some other task that will prevent you from putting that time toward growing your business?
📱 Social post about business.
As real estate agents, we have a great opportunity to use the visuals of our business for social media posts. Give a home tour, host an Ask Me Anything session, or post a celebration of a house sold. Stay top of mind for potential clients with a quick tweet or Instagram post at least once a week.
🏘️ 1 hour of market research
Part of your role as a real estate agent is to be an expert for your clients. Every hour you put into visiting listings and driving neighborhoods builds your knowledge and credibility.
🧘 Meditated/manifested for 15 minutes
Your focus is one of your greatest assets. If you can create a daily practice of honing your power of focus and pointing it in the direction of what you’d like to bring into your life, every action you take will have more power.
🏃♀ 30 minutes of exercise
Your body’s happy drugs await on the other side of each session of movement. Feeling too exhausted to exercise? Remind yourself of the paradox that exercise gives you more energy. I promise! You just have to dig deep to get started.
📞 Reached out to a friend to connected
I’m not talking about shooting your bestie a gif. I’m talking about a real, perhaps even scheduled call to get deeper than surface chit chat with a friend who’s important to you. Don’t let your relationships wither.
👪 Spent 30 screen-free minutes with family
You remember these people, don’t you? Those flashes of movement out of the corner of your eye as you check your email? All the success in the world won’t matter if you become a stranger to your family. Make time to experience life together.
🎯 Spent 1 hr following up on possible business
Making those calls. Doing anything else seems easier, but follow up is essential. A simple call to say, “Hey, I wanted to see if you had any additional questions,” can really make a difference.
🛌 Got 7 hours of sleep
A good night’s sleep sets you up with the patience, creativity, and mental clarity you need to rock your day. Put your phone away and take the time to recharge. Everything else can wait.
🙏 Listed 3 things I’m grateful for
Gratitude will get you everywhere. Start a note in your phone or a journal to prompt you to take time for remembering all that you have and feeling grateful.
🖋️ Contract signed
Success! Take some time to celebrate and remember how hard you worked to get that commission. For every big deal, I try to do something nice for myself to commemorate the closing. Sometimes it’s lunch with the friend who makes me laugh or just a manicure and a massage.
🤙 Made a connection with a call to action
Going to an event is no biggie. Connecting with someone, getting their info, and promising to call or email is the real value. Events are just the sparks, relationships are the fire.
💡 Learned from a mentor or coach
Getting schooled by someone who knows what’s up is worth its weight in gold. Don’t silo yourself and feel like you need to figure it out on your own. Use a coach or get a mentor.
📇 Met with a “super-connector”
The meeting that leads to countless other meetings. That’s what it means to really get a super-connector to sit with you. A super connector knows and has social capital among a group that could change the trajectory of your career. Find them and get in front of them as often as you can.
It’s like a game.
I realized this is a bit like a game, so I’ve made you a board to use each week here. Here are the steps to get started:
- Make a copy by selecting File, then Make a Copy
- Bookmark your file and create a daily reminder at the end of the day to fill in your tasks
- Build up 100 points each week
- Plan a celebration or prize for yourself if you make it to those 100 points!
Especially in the early years of being a mom and real estate agent, so much of what you do is foundation building. It doesn’t always seem to be paying off. But I promise you that if you stick to these habits, you will become the happy, healthy, and wealthy real estate agent and mother that you dream of being.
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