I can’t count how many tik toks/ memes I’ve seen of people being “bored at home.” As a realtor, I spend many hours working from home either researching, supporting clients, or working on my brand. Being a young entrepreneur, I know there always is something to do, so I can’t relate to “being bored”. Let me call “being bored” out for what it is, a weak excuse.
There is no denying that things are changing rapidly and that the nature of work is shifting and evolving. This will have an impact on our sales, prospects, clients etc. I’m a firm believer that new opportunities to learn and grow always exist.
Here are some of the things I am doing as a realtor during covid-19:
• Creating this blog right now ;)
• Creating my own website
• Leaning video editing (practising with video clips of myself or clips from my gaming council)
• Learning basic content creation for my social media outlets
• Outsourcing tasks ( finding content editors, graphic designers, etc)
• Strengthening Client Relationships
*Check the end of the blog for a full list of tips and suggestions on activities*
This seriously is the best time to work out the things you have been setting aside for who knows how long! We have been conditioned to a ‘go go go’ framework of life and for once we are being asked to pause. This has proven to be a difficult task for many- including myself. Our minds and bodies are not used to this. Many have noticed their working habits, sleeping schedules, diets, and emotions go through a variety of shifts. We are also becoming more aware of our guilty pleasures. Are you working hard or hardly working? How long are you really spending on Netflix? What is your guilty pleasure? For me, it’s gaming. I can spend hours and hours without taking a break. I’ve seen this community grow because of covid-19. Recently I was told by a colleague that his fiancé works in the Walmart gaming section, and sales were up 400%!
I’m not here to tell you not to binge a whole series in one sitting- what I am doing is inviting us to be more honest with ourselves. Increasing our awareness to our habits and how we use the hours in the day. Planning out the day with a schedule is really helpful in keeping us accountable. The day consists of 24 hours, 6-9 of those hours you are sleeping. That leaves 15-18 hours left, some of those hours you are laying in bed, on social media etc. How many hours are going into bettering yourself?
My daily schedule consists Working out early, contacting clients/ addressing their needs, working on side projects like this blog/ website. Putting roughly 6-10 hours into “productivity” before I turn on that PS4. Productivity in my opinion can include many things (not sure work related), even something like meditation, or a run around the block. You get to define your own productivity (be honest). Let’s try to keep most our days dedicated to bettering ourselves/ or businesses but let’s also have some time to relax/ have fun.
The other day I saw an interesting post that said “Stop putting pressure on those to learn a new skill during the quarantine. Many people have not had any time off recently, and this is the time for them to recover”. While I agree and support this message 100%, I come back with the invitation to be honest with ourselves. BEING HONEST WITH YOURSELF IS ONE OF THE HARDEST THINGS IN LIFE (needed to be in caps to make sure you understand how important that reflection is).
Self-care is critical for ones mental wellness. However, I think we need to be HONEST and understand the fine line between “honest self-care” and “using self-care as an excuse”.
There is no secret to success. Those who have stayed focused and worked hard during this pandemic, will come out of it on the other side thriving. When this is all over, you want to be able to look back and be PROUD of how you used your time.
Ask yourself this question: Are you proud of your daily productivity? Are you using this time or are you wasting this time? There are no right or wrong answers, just be honest with yourself.
Find your balance, find your honesty, and let’s all grow… Together.
Some tips and ideas of things to do:
• SPRING CLEANING – I’m sure some of you have started already, have you not done your spring cleaning? Have you cleaned that corner of the house yet?
• Re-arrange things – I feel like this quarantine was a new step/ challenge for me, I rearranged my room for this new beginning. In my small condo sized bedroom, I have my desk area, a filing cabinet, a queen sized bed, a fit desk (a stationary bicycle with a flat surface to place you laptop) and dumbbells. How do I fit all this within 200 SQ FT? I really don’t know but I make it work LOL
• Clean your closet, put away clothes you don’t use and or don’t fit into
• Paint whatever you’ve wanted to paint in your house/ room
• Organize papers – Filing papers is super important and we often leave it “to do later”
• Learn how to cook. Personally, I believe my cooking skills have gone from a 3/10 to a 5/10- slow and steady improvement.
• Gardening indoors or outdoor plants.
• Create your home gym! If I can create it in 50 sq feet of a bedroom so can you!
Fellow realtors, here is your list:
• Create your own website.
• Create your client data base.
• Follow up with past clients, see if they have any questions.
• Educate/ update yourself on government announcements and the daily changes being made.
• Stay in touch with your mortgage agent. Many changes have been made in terms of mortgages as well.
• Get creative with social media. Now is your time to shine.
• Depending on your budget to outsource, learn how to create new types of social media posts: videos, pictures, etc.
• Organize paper work. We all have paper work around that could be organized.
• Get involved. Get on zoom calls with other professionals, other entrepreneurs. Share ideas. (Instagram live, etc.)