As a real estate agent, we have numerous roles to play, it’s not just a job.
You’re the marketer, administrator, sales person, accounts person and so much more. Being a real estate agent means your are a business owner and entrepreneur.
There is a lot to be done and the truth is we often think we can manage more than we actually can or should. It feels honestly as though part of the role is to always be super busy. All of which comes with a lot of pressure and stress. Which inevitability at some stage for every real estate agent will lead to overwhelm
Overwhelm leads to inaction, which leads to more stress and a vicious circle evolves.
More importantly, when you continue to live in overwhelm. It can have a powerful impact on how we function not only in our roles as real estate agents, but also in the relationships of those who rely on us.
This article will give you some insight into the signs of overwhelm and equip you with 3 key strategies to help you overcome it.
Given everything we do. Not just as real estate agents, but in the lives we lead that are rich and full of experiences. It is quite understandable that many of us will find ourselves overwhelmed at one point or another.
Recognising overwhelm
If you have ever felt ‘off balance’ like there are not enough hours in the day, and you are falling behind with all the things you want to accomplish.
Feel this overriding sense of guilt. That you are not good enough, not achieving enough, not spending enough time with the people you care most about. You’re trapped in a negative mindset, where all you see are the things you aren’t doing. You lose track of your purpose and are probably forgetting to take notice of your wins you are achieving. This is a sure sign that you are likely to be experiencing overwhelm.
Perhaps you feel like your head and your heart is racing and it seems hard to breath sometimes. You’re in fight or flight mode as a result of all the things you feel you need to be doing.
You find it hard to focus. Your concentration being little to none. Even when you try your hardest to get things done, you find you are often distracted.
Or worse you begin to see changes in your behaviour and your moods. You feel angry or resentful, are restless, or burst in to tears for no apparent reason.
Any number of these things, are likely to signal that your are currently overwhelmed. So how can you shake off that funk. Get back focused and taking action that will keep the overwhelm away and lead you closer to achieve those goals?
Strategies for beating the overwhelm.
As a coach, I support my clients not only to set and achieve significant goals. But also to create space and time for reflection. In a structured way that will allow them to review their priorities, realign themselves and their business with their purpose. So that they can be authentic in their actions and enjoy a more balanced, fulfilled and rewarding life and business, with visible progress in moving them forwards rather than remaining stuck.
However if you are not ready to hire a coach right now. Here are 3 simple strategies you can employ when overwhelm hits.
I have used all of these techniques, not only with my clients but also myself. They are that easy you can implement straight away. Moving yourself from being frozen or fighting fires, to making progress right now.
MITS – Most important tasks
In his book, the 7 habits of highly effective people. Stephen Covey refers to the really important things being the big rocks. ‘If the big rocks don’t go in first, they aren’t going to fit in later’. The concept is easy, focus on your MITS (most important tasks) everyday. This is one of the most effective tools I have used with clients when they are faced with overwhelm.
When you are looking at everything you need to do, or making a to do list. The volume of tasks you have to accomplish can see completely overwhelming. You find yourself questioning, how am I ever going to achieve all this?
Mixed in with the multiple notifications we get as real estate agents. From email, social media, phone calls and text messages. You can suddenly feel like everything in your life is spinning out of control. Although the reality is whilst it might feel like this, it is rarely the case.
Start by listing down every single thing that you need to get done. Don’t miss anything off, no matter how small or irrelevant it may seem. Whilst this might seem like you are making the overwhelm more obvious. What this process is doing it getting it out of your head and on to paper. Allowing you to clear your mind and stop those racing thoughts.
Now review that list and pick just 3 things that you consider the most important and priority tasks.
Once you have established these, focus your energy on working only on those 3. Making sure that you only focus on one at a time. Start with the one you feel is the most pressing. Don’t move on to the next until you have completed it
If you are struggling with deciding on what should be the 3 most important things, then ask yourself the following:
What is the actual problem you are facing?
Which issues seem the most important or challenging?
Which issue, when resolved, will have the greatest positive impact?
Do I need to think about this right now?
If you feel like your mind is all over the place. You’re restless, feel unsettled, confused and seem to have this constant chatter going on inside your head. It can lead you to feel stressed out and overwhelmed.
When you feel like your mind is racing with everything you need to do. Stop, take a deep breath and ask yourself, Do I need to be thinking about this right now?
This may seem over simplified. Yet this one question has the power to draw your full attention to what it is that is going on inside your mind. Take that moment to pause and understand what is happening and how it is effecting you emotionally. By understanding whether the thoughts serve you in a functional way or just creating stress and through acknowledging your thoughts. You are then able to consciously choose what you want to do with them. If any of these thoughts do not provide you with any value, it’s time to focus on something else.
Example: If you have already decided what to do with a difficult vendor. Its time to stop giving the thought value space in your brain.
Saying no and meaning it.
Boundaries are something many of us real estate agents are not good with setting. We answer calls late in the evening, confirm viewing appointment in the middle of family time. It’s rare that we give ourselves a lot of downtime either.
If overwhelm is creeping in. Start setting some hard boundaries, and book appointments in your calendar with yourself. The same way you would with clients. Set a date with yourself for lunch, instead of eating it on the run or in your car. Give yourself the space of an hour to full enjoy the meal and allow you some breathing space in the craziness of the day.
Determine your working hours and communicate them to your clients. Set your phone to do not disturb outside of these hours and add your voicemail reaffirming the hours you will return calls. Book an hours meeting each day at the end of the day with yourself. Use this time to do something that will allow you to unwind and slow down.
Learn to say no! whilst it might feel as though this will damage your business, it actually won’t. Saying no to the things you don’t want to take on, the clients you don’t want to work with or the listings you don’t want to sell, will relieve you the dragging sense of obligation and the time consumption you are giving over to these things. In the long term it will give you more space to say yes to the things you really want to do and the business you really want to take on.
Conclusion.
I mentioned at the start of this article, that as real estate agents we have a tendency to often think we can do it all. We are busy people with a lot going on! Yet this can so easily lead to overwhelm. You need to recognise the signs that overwhelm is creeping in and take time to acknowledge it. It’s ok to admit to it, we have all been there at some point. Once you begin to acknowledge it. You are in a better position to implement strategies to overcome and avoid it happening again.
The strategies I have outline here will help you to stop overwhelm in its tracks and get back to focusing on the things that will make an impact in your business. Even if you incorporate just one of them. You will see a noticeable difference and will find yourself more equipped at handling what this real estate life throws at you in a balanced and aligned way that feels right to you.
However if you feel you need more support with overwhelm or other areas of your real estate business. Then coaching can help you with that.
I offer a free 30 minutes strategy call as a starting point. In which I will help you to identify what is keeping you stuck and what you need in order to move forward. To book your session or to find out more on how real estate coaching can help you, click this link: https://calendly.com/keely-capel/30min
