4 Tips for Making Neutral Colors More Interesting
By Christina El Moussa
I don’t have to tell you that going from working in an office to starting a real estate business from home is a pretty huge transition. To a lot of people, it sounds like heaven at first, but then they sit down to do some work at home…and they get distracted. When you work at home, especially when you have kids, getting anything done can be a huge challenge. I know it can be a challenge for me sometimes, when there’s laundry to do or even if I just want to marathon watch my favorite show on Netflix. Those things are all really tempting, especially if I don’t feel like following up on leads or going through the MLS, but I know that I need to stay focused if I want financial success.
Fortunately, over the years, I’ve found some really great tips for staying productive and working efficiently from home. Here are some that I use just about every day when I work at the house.
Create a Dedicated Office Space
If you’re working on a laptop or tablet, you can work from almost anywhere, but it’s much better to create a workspace that’s dedicated to your real estate business. If you have a spare bedroom, you can convert it into an office, and that’ll create a place where you can shut the door and “clock in” during the day before you clock out in the evening.
Even if you don’t have a separate room, you can set up on the dining room table or at a desk in your bedroom. Either way, don’t try to work from the couch or in bed. If you do, you’ll be much more tempted to turn on the TV, take a nap, or do something else that’s not what you need to be doing for your business.
Break Up Your Work
Now, some of the things you need to do for your business are going to be more fun than others. For me, I love driving around looking at different neighborhoods and properties, and I love shopping for appliances, flooring, tile, and paint. I could start the day with those, but then I’d have to spend the rest of the day working on stuff that I don’t like as much.
Therefore, to stay focused, I break up my tasks for the day and the week. I’ll usually start with something pretty low-key that I can do while I eat breakfast, like looking for deals on the MLS. Then I’ll move on to something that’s a little more exciting and go back and forth. That way, when I’m working on something that I’d rather procrastinate on, I’ll have something more fun to look forward to, and my work will be broken up into smaller chunks.
Take Short, Timed Breaks
Another good way to break up your work is to take short, timed breaks throughout the day. Some people take five-minute breaks every 25-30 minutes. I prefer to take a slightly longer break every hour or two. Then I can go for a short walk, do some yoga, or get the laundry started to give myself a mental break before I get back to work.
Basically, when starting a real estate business from home, you need to figure out how you’ll balance work and the rest of your life without either completely procrastinating on everything or letting work take over your life. If you follow these tips and modify them to fit your work style, you’ll have no problem reaching financial success with your real estate business.
Sources:
http://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-be-more-productive-working-from-home-2012-9
http://www.businessknowhow.com/homeoffice/workhometips.htm
http://www.lifehack.org/articles/productivity/work-home-more-efficiently-with-these-10-tips.html
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