These days, it seems almost impossible to keep up with our ever-changing, constantly expanding to-do lists. We have to do more with fewer resources and the same number of hours. Something has to give–and that something is low-value work.
What Is Low-Value Work?
Simply put, it’s the stuff that has little to no impact on your clients. In school, you might have called it busywork–the assignments that wasted your time without teaching you anything new. In the workplace, it’s a little more nuanced than that.
Low-value work doesn’t connect with your goals and values. It doesn’t move your mission forward. And it’s often either reactionary–responding to a notification as soon as it pops up–or a habit that’s been in place so long that you longer question it, such as a standing Monday morning meeting.
Steps to Minimize Low-Value Work
By taking as much low-value work off your plate as possible, you can free up a significant amount of your workweek. Some real estate agents spend as much as 25% of their time on rote tasks and busywork that feels productive but nonetheless fails to move their careers forward.
Rethink Urgency
Urgency is in the eye of the beholder. Everyone always thinks that their needs should be top priority, but the truth is that sometimes your “urgent” is someone else’s low-value work. Setting boundaries with clients and coworkers is an important part of this step. But you also need to examine your own priorities and make sure that everything is in alignment. Ideally, your workday should be focused on the tasks that move you toward your goals. Otherwise, you might find that you’re just spinning your wheels.
Turn Off Notifications
Does the idea of turning off your phone’s notifications make you feel anxious? The truth is that responding to messages the moment they come in destroys your focus. Instead of reaching for your phone every time it chimes or buzzes, turn off your notifications and batch those responses instead.
Since communication is an important part of being a successful real estate agent, you can’t ignore your phone altogether. But you could set aside 15 minutes every 2-3 hours to check your messages and send out replies.
Block Out Sub-Prime Time
Certain low-value work can’t be avoided, automated, or outsourced. These tasks should be pushed to the least-desirable blocks on your calendar. Friday afternoons are usually terrible for getting important tasks done, for example. The hour after your lunch break or right before you leave are also low-energy, low-focus periods. Use that time to knock out the boring-yet-necessary tasks that don’t require a whole lot of brainpower.
Learn to Say No
The biggest and most impactful way to reclaim your time is by saying no. It might be uncomfortable at first, especially if you’re not used to doing it. Some people might be offended–remember, everyone thinks their priorities should be your priorities too.
If you’re struggling with saying no, ask yourself this question: What happens if I don’t do this? Chances are, someone else will step up to take on the task. Or the person doing the asking might realize that it wasn’t important to begin with. Either way, you can let yourself off the hook.
