Productivity and routine are two business buzzwords that we hear a lot, but few people really understand. What do these two things mean, and how can you integrate them to propel your real estate investing career to the next level? That’s what we’re going to cover in this article.
What is Productivity?
Productivity means focusing your time and energy on high-priority tasks.
If you have ten things on your to-do list, I can guarantee that only one to three things will be revenue-generating items, while items four to ten will probably be maintenance tasks. Focus on items one to three and let items four to ten sit on the sidelines for a while. As American entrepreneur Gary Keller says, “Not everything matters equally.” Focusing on items one to three is productivity. The rest is busy work.
An example of productivity in real estate investing is the ability to seize profitable opportunities. For example, let’s say you’re searching for investment properties, and you come across a lucrative deal. By prioritizing this deal, you can act quickly and possibly secure the property before others have the chance to. If you’re not focused on priority tasks, you will be distracted and miss these valuable opportunities.
What is a Routine?
Routines are the daily habits you follow and the systems you use to get things done. If you have a solid routine, you can increase your productivity and reduce stress.
For example, I follow the routine described in Gary Keller’s book The Millionaire Real Estate Investor with a few personal tweaks: 1) Meditate and pray for spiritual energy 2) Exercise and eat for physical energy 3) Hug, kiss, laugh with family for emotional energy 4) Review budget and net worth for investment energy 5) Plan and calendar for mental energy 6) Generate leads and see real estate for wealth building energy.
I sometimes get out of my routine, but I don’t beat myself up over it. I just get back on track the next day. Using this routine helps me know where I am, where I am going, and why I am doing it.
What’s your routine? Steve Jobs would wear the same black turtleneck sweater and blue jeans every day, so he didn’t have to think about what to wear each day. Putting on that outfit was part of his routine.
How Do You Create a Routine?
Some say it’s difficult to build a routine or habit. I disagree. You only need enough discipline to get started for a few days; then you let the habit take over. Once you’ve done something for a few weeks, it will be part of your routine and you no longer need the discipline to keep doing it.
I love peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Sometimes, I’ll have two sandwiches after dinner. If I do this for a couple of nights in a row, it becomes a habit and I have to stop before I can’t fit into my pants.
Business habits are built the same way, but don’t taste as good!
When you first open your computer, rather than checking email, open that project you’ve been procrastinating on and work on it for about 20 minutes. After that, check your email. Keep this up for a few days and this minor act (project before email) will become a habit. In a week, you’ll realize your productivity has gone up exponentially.
Integrating Productivity and Routine
How can you integrate productivity with routine? First, make a list of the things you need to get done. Then put them in order, highest priority first. Then, focus on getting the top three things done.
Don’t pivot or open your email, answer the phone, or look at social media until those things are done.
If one of the items will take several hours or days to complete, spend 25% of the estimated time working on it, then pivot to the next item. Do this every day and, in about a week, accomplishing your top three high-priority items each day will become second nature.
In the beginning, use a little discipline to get yourself started. Tell yourself before you open your computer that you’re going to get started on that project first—you will not check your inbox, scan the web, or visit your favorite social media site.
Do that for a few days in a row and it will start to become a habit. If you mess up one day and get distracted, don’t beat yourself up; just get back on track the next day (or hour).
That is how you become productive and create the habits that become your routine, which leads to more productivity!
Productivity and routine are buzzwords for success in the world of business and real estate investing. The next time you hear them, I hope you will have a better idea of what they mean and how you can apply them to your life and business. Now, I’m off to make myself a peanut butter and jelly sandwich!
