We frequently talk about how tough being a real estate agent is emotionally and mentally, which is true. But this business is also tough on us physically. There are long hours, traversing construction sites, lots of stair climbing, and there’s the unconscious eating. We eat, anytime/anywhere possible and anything that is available. So there was really no surprise I had gained a significant amount of weight working in this profession.
Finally, the day came when I said, “I’m sick and tired of feeling bad!” Okay, now what? How can I apply my skills to this problem?
Being good at creating business plans, I felt like the same principles that I had used to build my business would apply to this project. Here’s the structure I had always used for my planning: determine the goal, create strategies to support the goal, find tools to support the strategies, take daily action, and anticipate/remove barriers.
Step 1: Establish a goal
All good goals have a target weight/date. The goals needed to be enough of a stretch to cause me discomfort, but not so hard it were unachievable. Target weight selected – check. Date to have it accomplished – check. No, I’m not telling what that weight is.
Step 2: Identify the strategies
After reading and talking to friends who maintained good body weights (after all, success leaves clues), here are some of my strategies:
- Drink half my body weight in ounces of water
- Eat 90 grams of protein per day (not easy for a vegetarian)
- Walk 10,000 steps a day
And more….
Step 3: Select tools that support my strategies
- For my water strategy I bought one of those insulated cups that keeps water cold f-o-r-e-v-e-r (and I really like it)
- Next, I researched and found a food/water tracking app to register my daily intake.
- And lastly, I got a FitBit to track my steps.
NOTE: these three steps are central to any business plan and can be used to build yours.
Let’s talk about the Fitbit
I’m officially addicted to my Fitbit…looking at the results more than 20 times a day helps me feel strong, accomplished, and pushes me to do more steps.
For those of you who have not experienced a FitBit (or similar device) you wear it on your body (most people on their wrist) and the device records your steps, how many calories you burns, your sleep, etc.
My Epiphany
One Saturday my husband and spent the day together doing what we call “putzing” around. We walked the dogs, went to the farmer’s market, went to the coffee shop, went to the grocery store, went to the hardware store, walked the dogs again, etc. At the end of the day I had 11,972 steps and he had 8,174. So if we were together all day how did I accomplish a 46% greater result?
Simple…little by little. For example, instead of driving to the next group of buildings in the farmer’s market, I walked. My husband drove. When walking the dogs I would walk ahead then turn around and go back toward him. Instead of driving from the coffee shop to the grocery store, I walked the block in between the two. Again, he drove the distance.
I didn’t do any one big thing. I simply put in extra steps multiple times a day. That’s it.
So what does this mean to you and your real estate business? As a real estate coach I see it all the time….being successful is about the little extras. That means writing notes at stop lights or making one more call when you are exhausted, or asking someone for referrals even when it’s uncomfortable. The little things accumulated means you blow past your goal.
Often one big effort (i.e. knocking on 20 doors) is admirable but exhausts you and makes you want to go home and cry to your mama. It’s the consistency of the small efforts that work long term.
So, how do you take the extra steps to build your business?
Click here for a printable version of this Strategy Session.