Stress – not everything has to happen now!

Stress, 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!

Feeling like there's not enough hours in the day?

“Many things aren’t equal but we all have the same 24 hours in a day. 7 days a week. We make time for what we truly want.”

Whilst planning for our next webinar on creating an ideal week for property management I came across this quote. It got the brain ticking and the more I thought about it the truer it rang. How often do we hear the phrases “I don’t have enough time” or “I’m too busy” in our property management world?

In property management we often feel overwhelmed as we battle between our ongoing day to day routine tasks as well as the huge variety of incoming urgent tasks. When these urgent tasks come in and take over our days it can feel like things are piling up in the background while we put out these fires.

While we are putting out the fires we are growing increasingly more stressed at the work piling up in our inboxes and in-trays that is less important. The seemingly less important tasks (that can often lead to further problems) can fall to the wayside, get pushed back or swept under the rug. And we all know what happens when we sweep things under the rug, the cracks will start to show sooner or later.

When the cracks start to show this leads to more urgent issues that need to be resolved and mitigated. Our stress levels increase even more. The busy hours turn into busy days where we are pedalling just to keep afloat and avoid the next angry phone call....

Starting to sound familiar? I’m starting to feel anxious thinking about it. Don’t despair. This is normal... it’s property management but it’s also life! It’s important to come back to this quote when things start to spiral into “I’m so busy” land or “I don’t have enough time” world. We all have the same hours in our day. It’s about how we plan them out.

When things are spiralling it’s time to take time out to create a plan, and figure out how to best use the hours you do have in a day. We are more likely to get more things done if we have a plan to aim for hence why it’s important to work towards an ideal week. Creating an ideal week in property management isn’t just about a fixed week that you’re supposed to stick to each and every week. It’s about continually redesigning the ideal way your days and weeks will run, depending on your circumstances, priorities, distractions and situation.

How do you do this? I invite you to sit with me for an hour next week and I’ll show you some ways to create an ideal week in property management, make time in your day for what matters most, get more done, feel more productive, and be less stressed. We’ll have some great templates to offer to everyone who joins us so don’t miss out.

If you are Real+ member, click here to visit Real TV where you can watch the webinar, 'Creating the Ideal Week for Property Management'