Balancing Work and Home in Real Estate can seem impossible. For many of us, the world of real estate never sleeps. Even after business hours, there can be a seemingly endless amount of work to get done before the new day starts. How can we find a work-life balance that doesn’t compromise one for the other?
Balancing Work and Home in Real Estate
Researching comparables, catching up on emails from clients and other investors, even following property trends online — it all takes up so much time! Although finding balance isn’t easy, it is definitely possible. What’s important, to begin with, is a positive mental attitude: with a little effort, you can balance the scales and satisfy your obligations. Here are a few things you can work towards to help make keeping your life in order a little easier.
Learn how to separate work time and family time
One of the most difficult parts of balancing work and home as a real estate investor is segregating your time. If you don’t compartmentalize work and your personal life into separate mental “boxes,” you’ll find they consistently end up mixing with one another. You will “bring work home with you,” so to speak. Likewise, things you haven’t had time to take care of in your personal life will often transform into intrusive thoughts that disrupt your daily workflow. Creating limits that define when you are working and when you aren’t will do a lot to help correct this.
With so much to do each day, it might feel like such compartmentalization is impossible. What that feeling indicates, however, is a need to refocus on your daily schedule. Cutting down on personal distractions while at work should enable you to get more of your daily workload completed. If that seems difficult, consider this next tip, too.
Ask for help
If you can swing it, even a part-time assistant will help you regain balance like almost nothing else. Having an extra pair of hands and eyes around to go over each day’s activities will cut down on those days where you don’t stop working until late. Plenty of independent agents and investors use a small staff or a virtual assistant to help manage the volume of information and research conducted on a daily basis. This extra time allows you to focus your energy on the most important meetings and investment efforts. At the end of the day, you can go home without feeling like you should keep working today to avoid a chaotic tomorrow.
Disconnect from your mobile devices
Here’s a tough one — put the phone down. Better yet, turn it off entirely. Once you stop working for the day, give yourself a few hours of complete technological freedom from electronics and screens. As long as your mobile device is nearby, the temptation to do “just a little work” is there. You might want to check your emails, check on a listing, or do any number of minor things. All of them are the opposite of relaxing. Take the time away from the Internet and work to run errands, do chores, and spend time socializing with your loved ones. Enjoy a meal with your family. “Recharging” time like this is critical when balancing work and home. It allows you to clear your mind and get back to work refocused on your goals. It also allows you to WORK ON, NOT IN your business.
Take time for yourself
It’s also important to remember to make time for your personal leisure, too. Find the opportunity to do something nice for yourself that doesn’t involve anyone else but you. Whether it’s reading a book quietly or seeing a movie on your own, take an opportunity to decompress, de-stress, and gather your thoughts. Having fun is part of it, but giving your mind a mental break it needs from focusing on your investments is more important.
Achieving work-life balance is an ongoing process
You won’t solve your problems overnight, but with time and effort, any real estate investor can find the balance they need to succeed. Resetting the way one views the spheres of work and home can do a lot to eliminate unnecessary distractions. When the time comes to close a significant deal or make a crucial renovation choice for an investment property, you can do so without spending all evening at home worrying about it. Look for ways to re-balance your life today! You’ll be glad you did.