Can you believe it’s only 8 weeks until Christmas?
No, neither can I! This year has flown by, seemingly as do most years in Property Management.
I get the feeling time flies faster and faster each year, especially with the increasing expectations and demands of our clients filling our days, making us busier and busier. Across all of the training, coaching and consulting we’ve done this year, it’s no surprise to me that the common challenge has been finding more time! So if you’ve been feeling the same way, know that you are not alone!
Whilst I’ve been busy helping you find ways to systemise, streamline and supercharge your businesses and portfolios to ensure there is more time in your days (and hopefully a bit less stress along the way) I’ve realised that I need to apply some of the principles I teach into my own day!
As the year comes to an end my aim is to take some time out and recap on how this year has gone. Look at where I can improve and better systemise my own processes, do some planning for the year ahead, and of course, catch up on all the housekeeping and spring cleaning (that I didn’t actually get time to do in spring!)
In your property management world this is also an optimal time to do the same thing. Take a look at the year that has passed and consider
- What has worked well
- What hasn’t worked so well and needs improvement.
- Tie up all the loose ends and spring clean your own portfolio
- Set up a plan so you are ready for a jam packed 2015
I thought it would be handy for you to have a free copy of our End of Year Checklist (click to receive) for Property Management.
Be sure to block some time out of your busy schedules over the coming final weeks to go through a review and also preview to get ready for the year ahead or if you are still running full tilt to the end of the year, lock it in your diary for early January. Doing this will give you a sense of ‘relief’ from your hectic schedule as you will know you have some planning in place to get you through!
Hermione Gardiner
S
tress, the most common side effect of working in property management can be a tough hurdle to overcome. We are bombarded each day with mounting tasks, increasing expectations, and some weird and wacky demands from our dearly beloved clients.
Stress can make can you believe that everything has to happen right now and it really doesn’t have to feel that way! In our moments of complete stress it can be hard to decipher what is urgent, what is necessary, what can wait, what can be reallocated and what does not need to be done at all.
When we are running full tilt and it’s all building up, we often need to just stop, take time out to replan and reprioritise. Often, this can be the hardest thing to do as this isn’t seen as dollar productive activity.
By taking time out to re-write your to-do list, making sure you list each task that needs to be done even if it seems small and insignificant, you will be able to clearly see exactly what has to happen. The next step is to go through and prioritise. I like to use a simple common ‘A, B, C’ system that helps:
- Prioritise what has to happen today
- What would be nice to happen today and
- What can wait until tomorrow
- I also use a fourth label which is ‘Q’ - Q stands for quick win and means I can knock that task over relatively quickly allowing you to cut your to-do list down.
The next step is to plan, out of your A’s, decide what you will do first, how long it will take, and plan the time into your diary. For those tasks that haven’t made it to your urgent A’s list, make sure you communicate any delays to your clients, so their expectations are met. I.e. a quick email to a client letting them know you won’t have a response to them today, redefining their expectation.
By taking time out to re-plan and re-prioritise you will often see that not everything has to be done immediately. Each task will fit into your daily/weekly plan at an allocated time, you will feel relieved that you know when it will be done and this in itself can alleviate some of the stress we go through!
For a free copy of my to-do list prioritisation checklist click here!
