The more efficient you become in managing your time, the more tasks and commitments rush in to fill the empty spaces you’ve created.
This is the time management paradox, and it’s a challenge for every real estate leader.
According to author Dane Jenson, the “rushing in” part of the paradox comes from distractions.
Distractions are a particularly corrosive contributor to feeling overwhelmed because they prevent us from feeling that we are making progress against the sources of the pressure.
How do you keep distractions at bay?
Rely less on willpower and more on schedule structures.
When you try to use willpower to shut out distractions such as social media, you are pitting yourself against an army of our generation’s greatest minds who are constantly trying to steal away a slice of your attention.
When it comes to distraction, structure beats willpower every time.
Here are a few examples of structures that help hiring managers beat-back distractions while recruiting:
-putting your phone in silent mode with notifications off
-closing your office door while prospecting and putting up a “do-not-disturb” sign
-putting your laptop in airplane mode so incoming emails/texts are not received for a period of time
-doing your recruiting calls/work in a place other than your office (ex. a conference room)
-forcing existing agents to schedule their requests for help
-using forcing functions for accountability
-and anything else that creates physical barriers between you and potential distractions
The solution to the time management paradox is not becoming more efficient.
To win, you must prioritize the most important tasks, replace decisions with rules, and create structures to eliminate distractions.
