7 Actions Agents Must Take to Regain Control of Your Time

by Steve Shull

Over the last few weeks, I’ve been talking about one of the most important mental shifts you can make: learning to value TIME over money.

You can always make more money. You can NEVER make more time…which makes time your most precious asset.

So now that we’ve looked at the false beliefs and fears that keep you from prioritizing time, let’s look at what you actually need to DO to make the shift to valuing time over money.

1️⃣ Move to a long term perspective.

Look at the big picture, the end game. Start taking a much more holistic view of what you’re doing as a professional.

As long as you keep your focus on the next deal, you’ll be stuck chasing. And as we’ve said repeatedly, chasing doesn’t work. Never has, never will.

As we get into the end of the year, ask yourself: are you building a business or chasing deals? If you don’t consciously choose to build a business, by default you’re going to chase…and the more you chase, the harder it is to change.

2️⃣ Learn the skill of time blocking.

Time blocking sets boundaries on your time and creates blocks of time to do what’s most important. Your time blocks act as guardrails to keep you focused on doing the right things in your business…

Like Cultivating Relationships, which is your #1 job as a real estate professional. It’s the thing you most need to do and least want to do, and without time blocking, you’re simply not going to do it.

Stay tuned for more on this next week, when I’ll walk you step by step through the mechanics of time blocking.

3️⃣ Truly understand that you can’t do everything yourself.

The goal is NOT to get everything done. All things don’t matter equally. 

Part of successfully making the shift from money to time is eliminating or delegating all the things that are not a good use of your time, so you can focus on what’s MOST important.

This doesn’t mean you have to go out and hire a full-time assistant today. There are software programs, virtual assistants, part-time assistance, and services for hire that can take a LOT off your plate.

The one thing you can’t delegate is cultivating relationships—everything else is game. (And honestly, if you actually cultivate relationships every day, there’s not a whole lot else you need to do.)

This shift is about focusing on high-leverage activities instead of random activities. Most agents never make this distinction. The result is the blender effect: each week blends into the next, and they’re busy doing everything but feel like nothing is getting done.

When you feel this way, it’s a clear indication that you’re valuing money over time. The reality is,  there isn’t time to do everything…but there’s PLENTY of time to do what’s most important IF you learn to say no to everything else.

4️⃣ Reframe how you define success.

It’s not how much business you do but HOW you do your business.

In real estate, what pays is CONSISTENCY. Success comes from a relentless pursuit of the fundamentals. You’re not in control of the outcome, so you need to be focused on the process.

When your entire focus is on money, all this goes out the window. You end up on-call 24/7, chasing low-probability prospects, with no boundaries, not saying no to anyone…and you’re right back on that treadmill going nowhere.

What you CAN do around money is have a better understanding of what you make and what you spend. As long as you’re in real estate—no matter how long you’ve been doing this—cash flow will always be an issue. The deals NEVER come in a steady flow.

So to be successful, you have to have a high tolerance for uncertainty, and you have to manage your money with real discipline. You have to learn to spend less than you make over the long term, not just in the moment. Much easier said than done.

Let’s be 100% clear: no one deal changes your financial position in a lasting way. However, your FEAR of not doing that deal causes you to prioritize money over time, which DOES change your financial position in a NEGATIVE way for a long time.

5️⃣ Take better care of yourself.

Remember why you got into this business: 1) to make a 6-figure income, 2) be your own boss, and 3) have freedom and flexibility.

And yet, when I coach agents, the thing I get the most resistance to is taking a full day off—24 hours with no email, texting, or voicemail. 

It makes zero sense.

You NEED to take time every week to do what matters to you—be with your family, enjoy your hobbies, travel, have fun. You NEED to take time every day to connect with yourself—meditate, journal, exercise, whatever your practice is. 

The only way you’re gonna do this is to block out time to actually do that. If you don’t, you’ll be stuck in the blender effect, running from one crisis to the next…and how can that ever be productive? How can that ever feel good?

6️⃣ Have confidence in your systems.

Which means you have to HAVE systems—we’ll get to that in Building Block #4.

Without systems and processes, there’s a high probability you’ll value money over time…and here we go, chasing again.

7️⃣ Surround yourself with like-minded people.

People who also value time over money…because everything in this industry is conspiring in the other direction, trying to turn you into a commodity every day.

If you’re not careful, you’ll get sucked right into that paradigm. Having supportive people around you will help you stay on track.

What we’re talking about here is exchanging bad habits for good habits.

I talk about this in Real Estate Is Not Rocket Science. Your habit mind is a thousand times stronger than your conscious mind. You’re not gonna think your way into anything—you have to ACT your way into it.

Time blocking is the guardrail that keeps you acting in the right ways.

Again, look in the mirror.

Evaluate where you are. If you love what you’re doing and the result you get every day, keep going.

However, if you’re experiencing stress, struggle, and overwhelm, there’s a reason…and a big part of that reason is you’re valuing money over time.

It’s a SICKNESS.

I’ll say it one more time: you can always get more money but never more time. 

That’s why valuing time over money is one of the most important mental shifts you can make, and time blocking is the guardrail that helps you do it.