Will being too busy ultimately kill your business?
We have all been there. ‘Never enough hours in the day’. ‘You don’t realise how busy we are’ but will this inability to strategise have serious consequences and how can it be avoided?
Theodore Roosevelt once said: “In any moment of decision, the best thing you can do is the right thing, the next best thing is the wrong thing, and the worst thing you can do is nothing.”
In this time of unprecedented change in both the world at large and our small corner of it in the Estate and Letting Agency industry, many are suffering from just this issue of procrastination and who can blame them? With what seems like a brand new ‘game-changing’ app, portal or software appearing almost daily it has left many feeling like a rabbit in the headlights, unsure as to which way to run and therefore staying firmly put.
Not only is the number of new options overwhelming but the number of options to navigate those options is now also becoming a minefield of its own with an entire industry of ‘advisors’ now being created.
Couple all of this with the fact that our industry has been incredibly busy with new business over the past 6 months or more and there is just very little mental space or time to investigate change.
Unfortunately, this is a recipe for disaster on a grand scale.
To quote another President, Eisenhower famously said, “what’s important is seldom urgent, and what’s urgent is seldom important.”
In our everyday business lives, there are always lots of things that scream for our attention. We all have big to-do lists filled with things that need to get done today. Yet there are so many shorter-term issues to address that it seems like there is no time left for strategic reflections.
This simple graph, called the Eisenhower decision matrix, is designed to help you place your tasks into the right boxes, just try not to put everything into the important and urgent box!
Using the Eisenhower Decision Principle, tasks are evaluated using the criteria important/unimportant and urgent/not urgent and then placed in according quadrants in an Eisenhower Matrix, also known as an Eisenhower Box or Eisenhower decision matrix. Tasks in the quadrants are then handled as follows.
1. Important/Urgent quadrant tasks are done immediately and personally e.g. crises, deadlines, problems.
2. Important/Not Urgent quadrant tasks get an end date and are done personally, e.g. relationships, planning, recreation.
3. Unimportant/Urgent quadrant tasks are delegated, e.g. interruptions, meetings, activities.
4. Unimportant/Not Urgent quadrant tasks are dropped, e.g. time wasters, pleasant activities, trivia.
The secret of course is planning, you need to schedule time for innovation and if you truly do not have time to do that, then you are either under-staffed or lacking in automation. The pull of the ‘urgent, not important’ of routine tasks is just too strong. So if you and everyone around you finds themselves doing simple to automate tasks like qualifying leads, posting content to social, sending follow up emails and registering applicants etc then software like Lifesycle can help.
We have all been caught in the ‘performance engine’ and are fully aware of its pitfalls.
If you find that your daily work conflicts too much with your vision and mission, it's time to take action and re-tune, automate simple processes and plan more time for the important long-term projects, because these are the ones that will help your company to remain relevant in an ever-changing world.
Book a call
Unlock the transformative power of our AI Operating System for Estate Agents. Designed to replace an agents prospecting tools, CRM, marketing tools, compliance tools and even their website in order to future proof their business and increase profit.
First Name*
Last Name*
Email*
Mobile Number*
Company*
Which best describes your estate agency?
Are you the final decision maker for technology and strategic investments in your company?
Any other information
Please confirm that it is okay for us to contact you about this information as well as our products and services. By confirming, you also agree to the use of cookies to enhance your experience. (You will always have the right to unsubscribe or manage your cookie preferences at any point in the future.)*
Latest news
How would AI actually kill our industry: What to know about the Doomsday scenario
The rise of Artificial Intelligence has sparked both excitement and fear within the estate agency sector. Many worry about AI replacing human roles, but the real 'doomsday scenario' isn't about AI taking over; it's about something different. This article explores how a misguided approach to AI could inadvertently undermine estate agency's future.
Read more
On-Demand Webinar: Vertical Drop The AI decisions that will define your business
Every estate agent is being offered AI tools. The bigger question is whether the decisions you're making today are building an advantage that will still matter when everybody has them. Watch this webinar to see where we believe this is heading.
Read more
What Is Revenue Per Employee (RPE) in Estate Agency? | A Complete Guide
Revenue per employee (RPE) shows how efficiently your estate agency turns staff time into revenue. Learn the formula, UK benchmarks, and how AI can improve it.
Read more