Time Management
By Tarise Smith
Time Management Part One: How do I do it all? My mother always used to say, “I’ll sleep when I’m dead.” Granted, she was a hard-working school teacher and single mother with four kids, who somehow managed to keep up with everything. Despite the remarkable example she set for me, when a busy adult schedule smacked me in the face, I couldn’t figure out how she got it all done. As a young adult I never met deadlines or managed to show up anywhere on time. I just could not keep up with life!
I have learned a lot over the years, and would like to share those valuable lessons with you. These are not new ideas, but I hope to present them in a way that makes putting them into practice feel feasible. Whether you are a new investor or a swamped, seasoned investor, you must break down all the information and tasks you are being given into small, manageable steps. Everyone has heard the old phrase, “How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.” You can’t swallow the whole leg! You will choke! You probably cannot even swallow a whole toe. So how do you break everything down?
First, write down your financial goals. How much money do you want to make this year? How much money do you want to make next year? How much money do you want to make in five years? Get your one, two, and five-year financial goals down on paper. When faced with analyzing your goals, it is normal to feel intimidated and wonder how on earth you will ever accomplish them. That is why it is necessary to break everything down. When you focus on the steps you can take today, accomplishing your goals feels far less overwhelming.
As an example, let’s say that your one-year financial goal is to make $120,000 by rehabbing properties. Let’s also say that you make a $10,000 profit on each property. This means that you would need to rehab 12 properties, or one property a month, in order to reach your goal. Depending on your area and how you are structuring your offers, you would probably need to make somewhere around one offer a day in order to get your monthly deal. If I simply looked at you and nonchalantly told you go make $120,000 by rehabbing properties over the next year but offered no further instruction, it is doubtful that you would feel as if that was a reasonable goal. But if I said, “Go out and make one offer a day,” reaching your goal would feel more doable. Simply take your huge goals and break them down into bite-sized chunks.
Ask yourself, “What can I do today to help me accomplish my goal? Who do I need to call today? How many calls on For Sale by Owner ads do I need to make this week? How many investors do I need to network with this month? How many bird-dog flyers or cards do I need to pass out today?”
Break down everything. Start with a large goal, break it into smaller goals, and construct a day-by-day plan that details what steps you must take in order to achieve your goal. If you follow this advice, you will not have huge, unattainable goals lurking over your head. Eat one bite at a time so you don’t choke on any elephant parts. Remember, small steps will build your successful real estate empire.