New Year´s Resolutions. Sigh. They´re a recipe for failure, right? I´m going to lose that last 20 pounds again, I´m going to clean up my sailor´s mouth, I´m going to stop spending discretionary money. Uh-huh. Yeah ? watch me go.
So I decided to come up with some REALTOR® New Year´s Resolutions. Count how many of them you already do consistently and pat yourself on the back, and then pick a new one or three. Stick with it and see what happens.
In 2012:
· I will refuse to have a relationship with people that I dislike.
· I will return every phone call or email or text message within a reasonable time, but certainly no longer than 4 hours from when I got it.
· I will either delete or put every email in its appropriate email folder immediately instead of cleaning up my inbox at the end of the year and dealing with over 3000+ messages. Sheesh! Every freakin´ year I have to do this.
· I will release a grudge. (Hey, Robert! Nice to see you the other day!)
· I will talk to my Broker about joining AAR´s Transaction Management so that we don´t have to print out all of those pieces of paper with every deal. TM also gives me a place to upload those 3000 emails. YES!
· I will slow down, and not always feel and sound rushed. Taking that extra 30 seconds is not going to kill anybody.
· I will refer customers that cause me discomfort or waste too much time.
· Every time I pick up the phone (whether to make a call or to answer one) I will smile. That smile adjusts my attitude and comes through in my voice and people respond well to it.
· I will schedule and insist on a sufficient amount of time to do my job well. I will not cut corners or compromise on the details.
· I will get competent with a new piece of technology.
· 3;and then another.
· Every day, I will make at least one "How ya doin´?" phone call.
· Every day, I will go that extra step above and beyond.
· I will look over my listings in MLS once a week.
· I will patrol my signs regularly, especially and always after a big wind.
· I will choose marinara over Alfredo.
· I will remember to look for the humor. To laugh. To make somebody else laugh.
· I will choose to be gentle instead of ripping somebody´s face off.
· I will make kindness a habit.
· I will be thorough, as opposed to winging it.
· I will really pay attention to somebody instead of multi-tasking while they talk to me.
· I will do something fun every day.
· I will do something important every day.
· I will double-check my facts.
· I will get comfortable with saying, "I don´t know."
· I will adjust my actions to fit my priorities.
· I will make a to-do list every day.
· I will give myself permission to say "#%@* the do-to list!"
· I will do something every day that I never did before.
· I will do something that´s good for me but that I really don´t much want to do.
· I will do something that scares me.
· When I´m wrong; I will promptly say so.
· I will write apologies for my mistakes.
· I will unsubscribe.
· When I call someone and they tell me that they´re in the bathroom but they really want to talk to me I shall insist that we text.
· I will do something that I really do want to do but never bother to make time for.
· I will take a nap.
· Or a walk.
· Or a class.
· I will volunteer for a worthy organization or cause.
· I will count my blessings every morning or every night, or both.
· I will acknowledge every good thing that happens.
Most of these really aren´t directly related to the business of real estate. They´re more about taking care of ourselves than about taking care of our clients. That´s the dichotomy of good business. If you recharge your personal batteries then you´ll have the time and energy to take care of business. You´ll see. It works.
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Remember when Christine Schneider from Trauma Intervention Programs (TIP) spoke at the MLS meetings? There was a lot of interest and requests to be informed when the next volunteer training was starting.
TIP training here in Verde starts January 12th. Go to www.tipofaz.org for more information. Thank you - we do need more volunteers!
