I am continuing our conversation on peak performance tools because it’s a very important part of the success formula in real estate investing. Today I want to talk about how to get more done in your day than you ever thought possible.
If you are working at your job and building a portfolio on the side, you know that you really need to have a structured plan for getting things done. Working full time means you have much less time to devote to real estate, just a few hours during the week at the most. Therefore, it’s very important to budget what time you do have for maximizing your accomplishments.
Or, if you are already working in real estate investing full time, you have an even greater need to have a daily structure. As I mentioned last time, working for yourself means that you don’t have a boss to set your performance monitoring system; you have to do that yourself. That’s why having a daily structure in place is so important.
I’ll use myself as an example of this. When I have numerous things to do in a given day–which is every day–I create and follow a regimented structure around myself so that I can accomplish what I need to get done. I have many businesses to attend to as well as a variety of other tasks that I personally need to do. I have been creating structures for achieving my goals for many years; since at least when I was single. Remember, I was working fulltime at my own accountancy practice with two small children at home. I had no choice! I had to get things done quickly and properly. I do exactly the same thing today.
How do I accomplish so much every day?
Departmentalize your tasksI departmentalize those tasks in my mind and in my schedule. I allocate only a certain amount of time to get a certain task done. I usually get it done, because if I don’t, when the time is up, I’m on to doing the next project on my schedule. (I’m also in the naughty corner for that task, as well.)
You need to do the same. Departmentalizing your tasks gives you the discipline to actually get your day structured and move you forward through the day in a productive way. If you know that you need to get Task A done before you can do Task B, then having a structure in your schedule forces you to get Task A done by a certain time.
Do you see how this works? You put your schedule in place, you organize your day, and then set about accomplishing what you need to accomplish. And where you get to the heart of it, everything’s been put into place by you, right? You’re the only one who can make you follow your schedule and accomplish your goals. But when you practice this process daily, it quickly leads to your days being filled with more accomplishment than you can imagine!
Now, last time I talked about the necessity for having your own personal naughty corner as a way of forcing yourself to accomplish the tasks and objectives necessary for success even when you’ve missed your mark. The naughty corner is a consequence for not getting those items done on time—you either don’t get to watch the football game or whatever other pleasurable activity you like to do—in order to have the extra time needed to finish the tasks you have given yourself. Again, it’s self-imposed. But then, your goals for a certain level of passive income, for pulling the pin on your job, and for living your life how you want to are also self-imposed, aren’t they?
But the flip side of having your own naughty corner to compel you to get things done is to put a reward system in place for when you do accomplish your tasks and goals on time. This is very important, too. Rewarding yourself for not only taking responsibility for your own success, but for achieving goals along the way, affirms and reinforces your thoughts and peak performance behavioral patterns. It affirms that you have made progress and have achieved what you have set out to achieve. The rewards can be big ones or small ones, according to the goal achieved.
For instance, one morning I may get all my slides done for my next seminar, or finish a property analysis. At that point, I may say to myself, “Great. Now let’s do something just for me.” So, (you will probably laugh at me here) I will go out and spend an hour in my veggie garden that afternoon. It brings me joy and relaxation and is easy to do. I give my self a small reward for achieving my daily goals and you should, too.
But you know what? I do this at every level, large or small. If I have a project that achieves a passive income goal, for instance, or I have finished a development, I may reward myself with a vacation or a nice weekend away. Whatever it is, it’s something that must be a real reward for accomplishing real goals.
Again, this reward system, like the naughty corner, like the daily structure and habits you put in place for yourself, are all geared toward creating a process for success. Getting peak performance out of your time, and more importantly, out of yourself, is not an accident. Nor is it only for certain people. Like success, which it leads to, peak performance is a choice. A process. It’s a process that you decide to engage in… or not.
But once you begin to really accomplish your goals, once you begin operating at your peak performance, you’ll find that something else happens as well…
More on this next time…