Working from home without a set schedule can negatively impact your business if you don’t make the best use of your time. I’m not perfect; Trust me when I say that I find it difficult to follow a routine at times. Especially when it’s super sunny and the weather is beautiful outside! But we all have to make money to live and to buy those pretty little things, so a schedule, whether it’s weekly, monthly or daily is an absolute must!
I am a huge fan of making lists and organizing my things to do. My memory is horrible and I find that reminding myself to do certain things by way of a list or reminder in my phone is crucial to my business. How I schedule my work week has really allowed me to be productive and get the most out of the day.
My work weeks are anything but typical. Yes, I do have things I work on each day of the week, but every week is different with clients, events and new collaboration projects.
Here are some of the things I do on a daily business both for my blog and for my real estate career, apart from dealing with client files. My client files are followed up with on a daily and weekly basis depending on the urgency of the client. Clients are a top priority in my business.
Mornings: I use my mornings to set my day up with everything I need to do. I set my schedule up based on my client showings and appointments. My mornings are for sending out emails, responding to clients from the evening before and follow up on projects and client files. I create a list on my iPad using Wunderlist and have a list of things I need to accomplish that specific day.
Afternoons: I always try to schedule my influencer and social media meetings in the early afternoon as the majority of my real estate client appointments tend to be in the evening. I like to break up my blog business and my real estate business, even though they work hand in hand. Afternoons are also used for random shopping trips in between clients! Shhhh….;)
Monday: Mondays are usually my business work day and I like to be up bright and early to get the day started. I typically do my week prep on Sunday mornings so I know what I need to focus on each day of the week. Ladies, I have to tell you, doing this can make a world of a difference for the productivity of your week. When Monday morning rolls around, I like to be focused with a game plan ready to go! Marketing is at the top of my list for Mondays. I focus on all marketing related items such as email marketing, sales campaigns, blog collaborations and set up my IG posts for the week. I’ve found that doing this on Mondays allows me to dedicate more time during the week for research and development.
Tuesday: On Tuesdays I like to work on my blog and brainstorm ideas for new blog posts. I take the time to read comments and emails from my followers about what they want me to blog about or answer their questions in the form of a blog post. I spend time on my blog and do a lot of research for my readers. This has allowed me to network without really networking as a realtor.
Wednesdays: My branding is something I take a lot of pride in. Putting aside time specifically for this is extremely important for my business and for me. Apart from client meetings I have throughout the week, I try to dedicate this day to work on my branding material. I design everything myself and really take the time to put an effort into creating the perfect brand that reflects the person I am. The power of branding can do wonders for your business. But you need to spend the time to connect your brand to your clients and customers. This is not an easy task nor does it take a day. It’s a work on progress and you have to constantly pay attention to your target market.
Thursdays: At this point in the week, most of the heavy work has been completed and I like to take this day to be creative and work on product and brand development. Wednesdays are used to research what works and what doesn’t work on my brand, whereas Thursdays are used to put my ideas and visions into a product. This may mean new designs, real estate flyer ideas, digital branding products for real estate agents I work with, etc.
Fridays: Let’s be honest, by the time Friday rolls around, we are all ready for the weekend and to get a little bit of fun into the end of the week! BUT, for a realtor, the weekend consists of showings, open houses and meetings with clients as they work during the week and most of their availability lands on Saturdays and Sundays. I like to use my Fridays to relax and prep for the weekend. I like to keep this day relaxed and do laundry and get my grocery shopping all done. I like to cook a fabulous meal on Sunday for hubby and I and get all of my meal ideas ready for the next week. It’s also my admin day. With everything going on during the week, this day is used to finish up any paperwork and tie up any loose ends.
This is what I found that works best for my schedule in terms of managing a blog and a busy real estate career. If you are a realtor, you’ve probably noticed that I don’t have a schedule for my real estate marketing. I’ve made my blog a career and use it constructively in order to grow and market my real estate business in addition to assisting women in their own careers and with their branding and I’ve found that this is my way of working on my lead generation and building meaningful relationships. This may not work for you, you have to spend time on finding what schedule works for you and your personality. What was once a simple blog with fun ideas, has now turned into an online portal for women to gain insight on advancing their careers and for branding themselves in a positive and gracious manner to help them achieve success in their business.
Find what works for you in your real estate career. Not everyone will do the same thing in business. The competition is high in the real estate industry and being able to set yourself apart from the crowd is important to the success of your business.
With Love | Nikki xo