7 Productivity Tips for Real Estate Agents (WFH)
The following are several tips to boost your productivity while working from home as a real estate agent to help keep you performing at your best and achieving results in real estate.
Working from the office as a real estate agent had many benefits such as being in a fun and social environment, having a productive workspace, free coffee (if you’re lucky), and a reason to dress up in your favourite business attire.
Since the pandemic, real estate agents and property managers have discovered that there are also benefits to working from home and many enjoy the flexibility and work life balance that this provides. It is now normal practice for many real estate agencies to give their staff the option to work from home one, two or more days per week.
The real estate agents working from home may struggle to get into the ‘zone’, finding themselves getting distracted by the TV, family, or odd jobs around the house that need attention. At the end of the day this can cause anxiety, loss of productivity and a built-up workload for the days that you are required to attend the office.
1.0 Establish a home office
A dedicated home office will help you keep your work life separate from your personal life and stay productive when working from home. Depending on how you like to work, choose a quiet space with plenty of natural light. If you can dedicate an entire room to your home office, that is great, however even a study nook will suffice.
2.0 Invest in the right furniture
Make a list of items that you use every day at the real estate office. Go through these items and see which ones would be practical to introduce to your home office.
For example, a coffee machine for morning and afternoon pick-me-ups, white board for keeping track of property listings and sales targets, storage space for documents, etc.
You will also need a comfortable work desk and chair that fits your budget. Keep in mind that you may be able to claim some of these items as business expenses, but you should speak to your accountant for professional advice.
3.0 Get dressed to WFH
Even though you are working from home and may not even leave the house for the entire day, getting dressed in the morning into your office outfit, can make a huge difference to your daily motivation levels.
Making that extra effort to get dressed into your work clothes in the morning can help you feel good about yourself and get your mind into gear.
Getting dressed signals the next step in your day after getting out of bed and showering. It can help install a positive outlook which can boost your productivity for the remainder of the day.
If you are required to hold your meetings virtually, it also pays to be ready and looking sharp for existing and potential clients.
4.0 Leverage WFH technology
Leverage virtual meeting technologies like Zoom, Google Meet, or Skype to keep in touch with colleagues, business partners, and new and potential clients while away from the office.
Use Spotify to play your music of choice throughout the day or keep podcasts playing in the background to replicate the social culture of your real estate office.
5.0 Keep a ‘to-do’ list
While working from home (and from the office) it is easy to get distracted by the dozens of emails and phone calls you receive throughout the day.
Keeping a to-do list will help you re-gain focus and continue working on the most important tasks for that day. Your to-do list can be either digital or hand-written.
Each time you complete task, cross it out for a little dopamine boost.
6.0 Set Boundaries
One of the biggest distractions while working at home can be the other people you are sharing the home with – family, kids, friends, and house mates can all hinder your productivity throughout the day.
Communication is key here. Have a discussion with the people you share your home with and set boundaries. Let them know that you would like to be undisturbed between certain hours of the day. Allocate specific (i.e., morning, lunchtime, or evenings) to spend time with those in your household.
7.0 Use extra time wisely
One of the greatest advantages of working from home is not needing to travel, which can save you hours per day depending on how far you live from the office. Make sure you use this extra time wisely, by investing in yourself.
This may involve taking online courses (i.e., real estate sales, social media, real estate tech), reading, working out or spending time with your family.
Extra Tip: Make finding a real estate photographer for your next listing as simple as possible by utilizing our platform to connect with talented real estate photographers in your area.
