Getting A Dog Was The Best Business Decision Ever

And it has nothing to do with meeting clients at the dog park.

The truth is, I’m a scheduling disaster. I book all of my appointments mid day, thinking I’ll do my office work in the afternoon. Good in theory, but I work from home, so by mid afternoon the boys are there, and I’m out of motivation. While I can pull it together when I need to, I spend a lot of days spinning my wheels feeling like I’m not getting very much done.

Not to mention the fact that I have a tendency to over commit.

And then we got Wrigley. Isn’t she the cutest thing ever? Full disclosure, she does not love the sweater, but I couldn’t resist.

The boys have been asking for a dog for years. Gary and I love dogs, but were hesitant because we didn’t think we had enough time for one.

But it’s turned out to be the best thing ever.

Since she was a puppy, and new to us, we didn’t want to leave her in puppy jail (otherwise known as her crate) for very long during the day.

So I found myself saying no to more things. Things that I didn’t really want to do in the first place. Things that weren’t the highest and best use of my time.

And I started scheduling my appointments in the afternoon, once the kids were home from school so that they could be with her.

The effect on my business was nothing short of miraculous.

• I started getting more done during the day because I making use of the time when I am focused and motivated. By the time that started to wear off, I was out the door to appointments, which I find energizing.
• I was giving myself bigger chunks of time to get things done, which meant completed projects vs 1/2 done projects piling up.
• My schedule was open, which meant I had more time to meet with clients. Especially when those last-minute phone calls came in for a house that just came on the market and they needed to move quickly.

The result:

I had the busiest third and fourth quarters that I’ve ever had, with a lot less stress.

Take the time to do an audit of your schedule.

Where can you free up time by saying no to things that don’t serve you?

What time of day is best for you to focus on projects, doing client research, etc? How can you leave it open?

What time of day are you distracted and unmotivated? How can you use it better?
Maybe you can preview homes between 3-4 or meet a client for coffee rather than playing an hour of solitaire on your phone or zoning out on social media.

Have fun with this, and watch what happens to your productivity. You will be amazed at how much more you can get done in a day.

To your success!
Nicole

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PSS: I’m not doing my quarterly mentorship group this year. As much as I love getting together with everyone, and seeing the success that they are having, it’s too much for my schedule. I am doing some one on one mentoring on a case by case basis, though. If that is something you are interested in, hit reply and let me know.