What does seize the day look like on a daily basis in your business? You are your employer -would you hire yourself? Are you using your time wisely? Having a schedule that you follow can dramatically increase your effectiveness. Here is what a highly productive agent's day looks like according to The Millionaire Real Estate Agent by Gary Keller:

1. Meditate and Pray - Spiritual Energy

2. Exercise and Eat - Physical Energy

3. Hug, Kiss, and Laugh - Emotional Energy

4. Plan and Calendar - Mental Energy

5. Lead Generate - Business Energy

You may be familiar with the 80/20 principle also known as the Pareto Principle - 20% of what we do produces 80% of our results/ income. 20% of what we do should be focused on the highest dollar productive activity. So what is dollar productive activity? Calling past clients and asking them if they or someone they know is looking to buy, sell or invest, networking with people that have the potential to buy, sell or invest themselves or know someone who will, Calling prospects that have registered on your website, called off of a sign. New leads you have received from sign, ad, and web inquiries. The key to all of this is to get an appointment so that you can build a relationship with them. This is a relationship business and people do business with people they connect with, like, and feel are going to meet their needs. So how do you show someone that you are that person when you are communicating with them via the phone or email? LISTEN to what is important to them and be sure to fulfill those needs. Asking good questions is the key to getting them to open up to you and let you know what their needs and wants are in this scary process of buying or selling the biggest asset they have (for most people). The key is to understand what your client is looking for, meet or exceed those needs and be sure that everything you do speaks to responding to those needs.

If you are working on flyers and websites for the majority of your day you can be sure that is NOT seizing the day - this is a contact sport and in order to seize the day you must focus on the most important aspects of this business - and that is getting in contact with PEOPLE not things!

Carpe Diem in your personal life - what does that look like? When you are with family and friends it means you are really with them - not answering your phone or checking your email on your smart phone - they need your full attention and you will be refreshed and renewed when you return to your work. You say but how do I do that because I am working on a deal? How many times have we left our families on a day we had previously designated family day for a client who just had to see that house or write the crazy low ball offer that never turned into anything? All of us have done this in our career at least once and resented every moment of it. We don't want to miss opportunity however some of our clients deserve our attention and other times we are not asking enough questions prior to giving up our personal time for people who it turns out do not deserve our time. Okay, I know you are saying that is all well and good but you still haven't told me how to avoid the vampire clients and guarding my personal time! Here is where getting this 24/7 mentality under control comes in your life and business - setting boundaries is crucial when you establish a relationship with a client - what number can they call you on? What hours are you available? What to do if they see a property they are interested in - or they have an urgent question? Have you shared this information with them at the beginning of your relationship, if not then you are on call all the time for them and the only person's fault is your own because you did not articulate to them how you work. People respect a professional and if we do not establish ourselves as a professional with professional hours and boundaries at the front end then we are merely a commodity that can provide MLS info and use the magic key to open one of those lock boxes. Okay you say I get it - be professional and let them know how I want to be communicated with and ensure that you are meeting their needs on how they want to be communicated with as well. So how do I handle going on vacation, or a Sunday at the football game? Establish a relationship with someone you trust to cover for you or begin to build a team of your own in which it will allow you to have peace and confidence in spending time away without working remotely. One piece of advice if you are thinking of establishing a team/partnership - date first just like you might a potential spouse, ensure that you can have honest discussions with this individual. Understand their work ethic, habits to be sure it meets with your standards and you feel as if this is someone that can provide the same level or greater level of service that your clients are accustomed to. Problems will arise with a partner/ team - that's a given. The true test is how you handle it and can each team member be honest, thoughtful, and clear on what went wrong and what is expected in the future. Partnerships/teams are often not completely about profit - they are typically at the beginning about quality of life which is equally as important as profit for many professionals. As we continue to work as professionals with a sense for business we can keep our focus on the task at hand be it our business or our family - both need us 100% focused when we with them.