Some choose this career to have more free time for their personal life and then get caught up in the hours and spend more and more time working. They do not take time off and their home life and health often suffer. One way to combat this is with time-blocking. This means that you will actually block out time in your schedule for the areas of your life that require attention. You must use your calendar to schedule your child's school play, your laundry, your nail appointment, your exercise routine, and your Friday night date with your spouse. These appointments are important and should be blocked out right along with your floor time and your open house schedule. Putting all business and personal appointments together will eliminate the possibility of double booking your time. It will also eliminate the need to apologize to your loved ones when you choose to show property instead of spending time with them. It may sound silly, but it's critical to start making your schedule work now. Schedule time for yourself and your personal life.

Your life is made up of many elements; your real estate career is only one of them. You need to maintain a balanced life in order to have the energy and presence of mind that your new business requires. As you develop your career, consider the other areas of life, including your health, family, and spiritual or religious practices.

Your Health

You have heard the saying, “If you don't have your health, you don't have anything.” As simple as it sounds, it is true. Regular exercise and good eating habits will go a long way toward keeping you in shape for the rigors of real estate, ensuring that your physical, mental, and emotional health is at its best.

Take time to exercise for at least a half-hour every workday. Block out the time in your calendar and stick with it. When you are doing your exercise, turn off your cell phone or pager and focus on the exercise. Let your mind rest and don't allow yourself to think about work for that small thirty-minute segment of your day.

Many people don't like breakfast or don't think they have time for it, but you need to make time to eat a good breakfast every day (coffee and a sweet roll don't count). It is optimal to eat several other small meals throughout the day, and to block out time for lunch as well. If you're worried that it won't be productive, bring a client along. Drink plenty of water. Constant dehydration can lead to long-term health issues. Keep some healthy snacks handy at your desk, such as fruit or granola bars, in case you are running from appointment to appointment. You can even pack a snack bag with some sandwiches or other snacks and bottled waters to share with your clients or customers when showing property. They'll probably get hungry too!

Just as important as your physical health is your mental and emotional health. Take time for yourself. Spend some of it doing nothing, just relaxing. Spend time on a hobby or interest that you have. Even if you block out a few hours once a week, you will find yourself revitalized by the practice. Read a book for fun, have a massage — anything that gives you pleasure will clear your mind and make you a better agent when you are working.

Your Family and Friends

At the beginning of your real estate career, as you are gearing up to make a living, the people you will spend the least amount of time with are the ones you care about the most (because “they understand”). Your family and friends do understand — at first. After a while, they will feel neglected and unloved if you do not give them your time. Your time is the biggest gift you can give them, and having time for your friends and family is probably one of the reasons you chose this career. Block out time for them every day. Not just the “bye honey, I gotta run” time, but a phone call or a personal note, a cup of coffee, lunch, or time to go for a walk together. If you are perfectly successful in real estate but lose all the people who are important to you, why bother?

If your family lives in another community, make a habit of calling them from your cell phone on your way home, once or twice a week. It gears you down from the workday and gives you a chance to be in touch, if only for a few moments. Those few moments will mean a lot to your family and your relationship with them.

Your Spiritual or Religious Practices If you do not have a spiritual or religious practice, this can also mean your volunteer time or charity work. If you have never taken the time for any of these things, seek out and find something that interests you. You may spend time with Habitat for Humanity, building houses in your area. You may volunteer to read at a nursing home or you may enjoy volunteering at your child's school. When you give to something that is outside of yourself, you will often find the benefits to yourself far exceed what you have given.

You may believe that participation in these activities will also bring you clients and customers for your real estate business. While this is often the case, it should not be your motivating factor for participating. You should do these things for the personal value they bring to your life. Consider the potential of new business from these activities as a bonus, not as the reason for doing them.