Follow up to, do you need a time out?

Setting Boundaries

I jumped onto Active Rain this morning from my hotel room and found the featured blog about needing a break from real estate and setting boundaries and wanted to expand on that thought.

I have had my license now for nearly 7 years, not an eternity, but some days it sure feels like it.  No one suggested I should have a social life to go with trying to develop my business, not even my broker.  I worked 7 days a week, did not take vacations, interrupted family dinners, and even walked out of a theatre to take a call.  I grew my business well, but I truly don’t think it was these kinds of actions that did that.

I now have very distinct boundaries, and promote them within the office I recently opened!  We work as a team, when one of us goes on vacation, the others pick up the slack so the one on vacation has a real vacation!  When we go home, we spend family time and I frequently ignore phone calls on Sundays these days.  I have not had one client who did not say “good for you!”.  They all feel as though we should have some time off and some balance, we are better agents.

By the way, I write this from Rock Springs, WY, rather than Bozeman, MT.  The last two days were spent with my beautiful daughter driving down through Jackson and into the town she has chosen to attend college in.  We spent time unpacking, enrolling, and just plain hanging out.  Valuable time I did not interrupt with business!