There are only so many hours in a day, days in a week and weeks in a month. Time is the one thing that we can’t buy more of. We are the only ones who are in complete control of our time. It can’t be stored up for a rainy day and you can’t go to the store to get more. Everybody has to live within the budget of time that they are given. Unlike being able to go out there and earn more money, you just can’t go out and earn more time. When it’s gone … it’s gone!

So with that in mind, how are you utilizing your most precious commodity? Like most agents, there are things in your business that are robbing you of your valuable time. Whether agents are spending hours working with buyers that are not qualified to buy; or wasting time running around filling flyer boxes on listings they know will never sell because they are overpriced; or even volunteering their precious time to a committee that just sits around and complains rather than getting anything done – every one of us is guilty of frittering away our hours on things that drain us of our energy. Is this really the way you want to spend your valuable time? I didn’t think so!   

We have all taken time for granted at some point in our lives. Eventually we must realize the critical importance of protecting our time and utilizing that time better. One method to curb the in time thieves in your life is to edit. Editing is the art of removing what isn’t working in your life. Because you only have a limited number of hours in a day it is critical that you “edit” out the non-essentials. Is wasting your time being on a committee that you are no longer passionate about really a good use of your time or is that time better spent at home recharging and spending time with the people you love? Doing so will only give you more energy for doing the things that you are passionate about.

I see real estate agents racing around from touring buyers to keeping transactions together, rushing off to a committee meeting or PTA meeting, only to find themselves exhausted at the end of the day. And their effectiveness at everything is drastically diminished because of this.

When you edit, it is not just about removing things from your life that you are not passionate about, it is also about removing things from your life that cause you pain and stress. And sometimes that includes having to edit people out of your life.

For example, if you have an associate in your office who is always complaining and whining, this not only takes up your valuable time, it will also zap your positive energy. If you have ever worked with someone who was always negative, difficult to be around and even their general outlook on life was depressing. You know how draining that can be. It is then time to edit that person’s interaction with you by limiting the amount of time you give to that person.

When you are editing, really take a good hard look at everything you do from day to day. Consider the following questions:

• Is this the best use of my time?
• Is there a better way to do this?
• Is there someone else better-equipped to do this?
• Is this adding to my energy or depleting it?

Then if it is clear that this is something that should be edited, ask:

• How do I edit this from my life?

Once your life is edited, like a garden that has just been weeded, it is important to plant healthy plants or the weeds will just come back. Determine what gives you energy and add these things to your life. Perhaps you get energy from spending time with your family, exercising, or cooking. Perhaps there are key people who you should be spending more time with. Consider these and make a plan to add more of this in.

When you are feeling overwhelmed and exhausted and you know that something has to give, why not edit the events and people that are no longer bringing you joy or purpose right out of your life. You will be very happy you did and your effectiveness will increase because of it!

I challenge you to take one week out of your life and edit any events, people, or stressful situations out of it. Then email me and tell me how this one week of editing affected you. I think you will amazed at what happens. I will be giving away a free six month Club Zebra PRO membership (a $300 value) for the most impactful editing process! Deadline is March 25th, 2013.