Most Realtors struggle with time management. I struggle with this constantly. Constantly! It's hard to be your own boss and responsible for your own time management. We have no other choice but to learn the skills we need for effective time management.

The good news: There really are enough hours in the day if you manage your time wisely. And all of this has been done before. We can simply do what the most successful among us have done: use systems, schedules, trackers, and plans to work efficiently.

No matter the stage of your career, you can be more productive, get better results, do more transactions, serve more clients, and have more time for your life. You can stop scrambling to fit it all in, get off the treadmill, be more focused, and get more done in less time. But you must disrupt your routine to change it.

Tom Ferry (you need to know him) says, "Work expands to the time allotted." If it's not in your schedule, it does not exist. So don't do it if it's not in your calendar. If it matters, schedule it—family time, marketing time, showing houses, vacation . . . schedule your off-time first! Schedules free you from worrying about what you need to do and when. How many times have you just run in somewhere "really quick" and ended up staying for an hour?

Say you get a call in the evening (dinner time) and one of your clients wants to see a home right now, but it's 7:30 p.m. There's a simple way to handle this situation:

"Hey, I'm so excited you called. Unfortunately, I'm in an appointment right now. However, I do have time tomorrow at 11 a.m. to meet with you and see that home."

If a lead calls while you're working during blocked time, you can choose not to answer. What if you texted them immediately and said,

"I'm in an appointment, but don't worry, I'll call you back at 11:00"?

Then, get back to work on your scheduled task. You're not lying. You're protecting your time; this is how businesses are run! Stores, restaurants—everything has a closing time, and they still have clients and customers. They still thrive.

Three quick pointers for making the most out of your calendar:

1. Block your time. Allocate chunks of time and fill them.
2. Prioritize around Dollar-Producing Activities. You can book whatever you want, just not during the times when you should be making calls, going on appointments, or spending time with family.
3. Track and measure. Otherwise, you'll never know how well you're doing. Ever. You'll never be perfect, but if you can run at 90% efficiency on your schedule, you'll be wealthy.

It's worth saying again:

• "Work expands to the time allotted to it." Always.
• If it's not in your schedule, it shouldn't exist. Don't do it if it's not there already.
• If it matters, schedule it.
• Schedules give you freedom. They will change your life.

Time blocking will give you the freedom to stay on track. These blocks of time are appointments. Don't feel guilty—appointments are simply spaces in your calendar. Not only does this teach others to respect your time, but it reminds people trying to reach you that you're a busy and successful Realtor. In fact, they're likely to respect you for it.

A good guide is:

• Recovery Time: Unplug/unwind. Schedule it first.
• Business Generation/Marketing: 2-3 hours a day (5 days a week), preferably in the morning. CRM work, posting on social media (not browsing), FORD calls, etc.
• Servicing your Business: 1 hour in the morning, 1 hour in the afternoon (5 days a week). Responding, checking emails, checking in with clients and service providers.
• Lead Conversion/Follow-up: 1-3 hours in the afternoon. Reaching out to "not yet your client" folks.
• Appointment Time: The rest of the day is for appointments, meetings, and showings. Don't have any? Get out anyway. Take a client out for coffee. Do something away from your laptop.
• Getting Ready Time: It's important to account for routine tasks too (turning everything on, getting coffee, weekend reviews with co-workers). This is the easiest place to fall off track!
• Schedule breaks—quick ones.

Start the day the same way every day. Start the morning by checking your email—but don't respond to it. Delete junk, respond to urgent matters only. Then you'll have less to do later, and your attention will be streamlined.

Be capable of adjusting. You will get off track—just get back on. One way to allow for flexibility is to only allow it on certain days of the week. Maybe on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, your evenings are protected. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, you assume that you'll work late and make yourself available for those clients who need to meet at later hours.

Your calendar dictates what you will get done. You own your own business. No one is watching you day to day. No one can force you to become a schedule user. You must hold yourself accountable. If you feel like you're not the type who lives by a calendar, you may need to adjust some habits. You must have a structured business life! Business requires routine, structure, and discipline. There is a right and wrong way.

If you don't control your schedule, who does? Everyone else.