Structure Your Working Week Effectively

It's safe to say we are much busier now across our businesses, including the training side (PSC) and the National Association (NAPSA) - and with more projects and tasks to be completed, we have had to focus heavily as a team to make sure we have structure and processes in place each week. 

This works in parallel with the structure and processes we have implemented to our property sourcing business in the past.

Everything we discuss below would work for practically any business looking to succeed. 

Organisation and planning really is everything when it comes to building a strong and successful business. 

Utilise Calendars For Sourcing

Apps or digital calendars can be your best friend, if you let them in. There are plenty of benefits to online / digital calendars; such as automatic reminders, the ease of access via your phone, map integrations when you're viewing different properties, through to calling someone directly from your calendar.

As a team we use our Outlook calendars via our Office 365 account in the main to sync, however some of our team also use Fantastical for more advanced integration and cross-over with different calendars. You could just stick to Google, which is completely free - or Apple / Android, depending on which device you use.

"If it's not in the calendar, it doesn't get done! - Tina Walsh" 

If you're looking for an app you can use across all devices, it's worth shopping around to find one that works best for you aesthetically and ease of use. 

However, you don't have to go down the digital route. Some prefer to stick to paper, or even a whiteboard to keep track of meetings and agendas for the week. 

It doesn't really matter what you use, so long as your time each week is accounted for and you're well on top of those investors calls, viewing schedules etc., otherwise it won't take long to become consumed by time. 

Assign Regular Daily Activities

Keeping on top of your emails is absolutely key, however it shouldn't dominate your day.

As a team, we assign morning time to carry out general 'admin tasks' including emails that have come in over night. 

We carry this out every morning and then place in extra time in the afternoon for any emails that come through during the day. Between those times, we close our emails so that we can fully 'switch off' and focus on important projects or other tasks for the day.

Example:  

Morning

1. Emails check / respond
2. Social media responses
3. Property / Market research
4. Daily Project (finance, business development, marketing etc.)

Afternoon

1. Second Email check / respond
2. Daily Project (finance, business development, marketing etc.)

Plan Weekly Sourcing Focused Activities

Similarly to above, you should structure your week to tackle different areas of your business. Growth tends to happen through habit, so assign 'days' to various areas of the business: 

Example: 

• Monday - Finance
• Tuesday - Business Development
• Wednesday - Marketing
• Thursday - Business Development
• Friday - Admin & Planning

Keeping on top of core areas of your business through projects or set tasks will allow you to move forwards. Areas that are more important, such as Business Development, should be allocated more time and focus each week, however don't neglect those pesky admin slots such as finance - you'll regret it come the end of your tax year!

Don't Put Too Much Pressure On Yourself

It's easy when starting a business to want to achieve absolutely everything in a day. It just won't happen. You'll risk burnout and feel disappointed with a perceived lack of progress. 

Instead, tackle your time in chunks by assigning those daily 'must' tasks and switching your focus to projects  in and around those. 

But remember, meetings will come in, urgent projects will drop in. You might well have to adapt and re-prioritise your tasks. 

The key is getting a routine in place so the fundamentals are always covered..and have down time. You can only do so much in a day and week!