I am curious....with our business...do you plan days off..or just not work if somehow you have nothing going on......I pretty much work every day.....not always the same amount of hours..but ite pretty rare that I dont do something real estate related daily

Usually every day - even if it's blogging or answering emails. Some days though I wake up and just can't stand the thought of "working" so I don't. I watch TV or read a book and don't even answer the phone. Though I might check email....that happens about once a month.

Some days I work all day into the night, some days I only work a few hours, but I'm usually at it most days.

I work 5 days a week. I plan my weekends off. 9am-6pm unless I am going on an appointment

time blocking has been the biggest change to my business that has pushed me to the next level.

there is a story in one of the books that i read in regards to time management.


here it is as best i can recollect>>>

a professor stands in the front of a full classrooom giving a class on time management. he pulls from behind the podium a large glass jar. he tells the students that the jar is representative of the time that htey have in the day. he then puts some large rocks in the jar until the glass is filled up to the top. he tells teh students that he is filling the day with activities. he asks the group if the jar is full. the group shouts "yes". he then pulls out from behind the podium some smaller gravel and pours it into the jar and shakes the jar until the gravel settles into the nooks and crannies in between the large rocks. he once again asks the students if the jar is full. the group is pretty sharp and realizes what he is doing. the group shouts "no, the jar is not full". the professor now pulls out sand and pours it in and shakes it around until it settles into the large rocks and smaller gravel. he asks again, is the jar full...the group shouts "no". he pulls out a pitcher of water and pours it into the glass jar and asks the students if the jar is full and the group shouts***"yes, the jar is full"***

teh professor asks the students what was the purpose of this demonstration. an eager student in the front of the classroom raises his hand and says "no matter how much stuff you put into your day, there is always room for more".

the professor says "i hope that is not the lesson that you walk away with". the professor then states that the purpose of the demonstration was to show that you must put in the big rocks first or you will never be able to get them in!

the big rocks are you time with your family and friends.

I wrote that on another thread, but feel that it has application here too since time off and quality of life is why we work. If you put the systems in place you can work less and make more!

I am done for this week.

Tomorrow is going to be "Are you ready for some football!!"

Mind numbing nothingness for a day will be gladly accepted. I am in the commercial real estate ring so usually no Saturdays or Sundays but I took 2 new listings today with a value of about 220k in commission if I double-end it or half that on the single end side. There were 2 other properties I turned down as they were overpriced. I get alot of calls and only take the serious sellers.

6 days spread out the way I like it, about 65 hours. I never go 24 hrs w/out checking email or returning a call. Most often it is Saturday afternoon and most of Sunday off.


Estate I have been thinking about the pebble thing today. It's a good story.

I eat breakfast and dinner with my wife and kids every day. Maybe a lunch or two also. I take off 5 to 8 most everyday for family time. In fact, I need to get to bath and books now-what am I saying! We go to church together weekly. We are grounded very well for these reasons I think.

Everyday. At least checking e-mail if nothing else.

Six days, really motivated right now and prospecting like crazy. I am giving myself 60 days to build a listing bank of eight properties and then on from there.

I do the majority of my work Mon-Fri..Some days are long some are short, it depends on what comes up. Sat & Sun I check emails and return emergency calls...

Thats a really great analogy.

I *try* to keep it 9-5 weekdays but here it is sunday and I am headed out to take some pictures of a property and then get a contract signed. And I also worked yesterday for a few hours. I am also guilty of being eternally chained to my email - it got much worse after I got a phone that received email. Wow now that I think about it I am almost always working nowadays. That needs to stop. After a semi vacation for the month of dec. business got super busy which resulted in the endless amounts of things to accomplish, but I do have to limit myself. It'll still be tehere tomorrow. I do find that my nonstop working is affecting my family life now. Business is great but I am constantly on the verge of burn out and my relationships are suffering a little lately.

Great rock story. Really makes me think.

In my market most of the showings occur on weekends. Many of our buyers come from out of state or at least a few hours away, and can not schedule showings during the week as easily due to work; it's especially more difficult in the winter when it gets dark earlier. At least in the summer you can show property in the evenings till 8:00 or so if you want.

wow I cant believe I havent thought to bring this up before..but I am liking the answers to far..I hope to hear from more

This is my answer to how many days I work. Exodus 20:8-11. No matter if your religious or not it's a good idea.

I would say 6 solid days a week, and on the 7th just some light emailing/research... Perhaps since I am new to the industry I am working more than in the future (when I have a bigger SOI, effective systems in place)...

One of the main things about being a good Realtor is being available to your clients as much as possible. This may incorporate some random hours into your daily routine whether it is for responding with call backs or emails from your clients. My normal work week I work every weekday there are many evenings in which I work late also. Weekends I try to keep solely for walk through with customers in needed and my personal time. Seeing as in real estate you can officially be your own boss your hours and daily work are basically up to you. The real question it comes down to is how much money are you trying to make and how good of a service you are trying to provide to your customers.

Cindy Wilson

www.eagleriverhomes.com