Permission Granted

With the holidays upon us, I thought it timely to write a little about the importance of taking time off.

I know, I know, you’re busy. You have a new listing coming on right after the New Year, and you have a lot to do to get the house ready. You have those buyers from out of town who can only look at property the weekend between Christmas and New Year. There is that client appreciation event you told yourself you would organize for the end of January. And then there’s the little matter of your personal preparations—shopping, and travel, and holiday cards, and wouldn’t it be nice to have a cocktail party?

But here’s the truth: You’re always busy. We all tell ourselves the holidays are an impossible time to slow down, but once the holidays are over, it’s time to think about preparations for the new year, and then spring preparations and the explosion of listings, and then before you know it summer, and so on and so on. If you wait until you are not busy, well, you could wait forever.

This is a topic that comes up often in my coaching sessions with my agents.  This time of year I see the year-end fatigue set in with my agents. But, here’s a reminder for you: the holidays are also about slowing down, giving thanks for all that we have, for spending time with family, for appreciating one another, for taking the time to celebrate with those around us. And it’s hard to do that if we don’t stop “the busy” and make the slow-down happen.

I give you permission. Take a day or two off.  Heck, take off a whole week! Enjoy the season. Go shopping with your spouse or your kids, sleep in, go see an afternoon movie, meet a friend for lunch, treat yourself to a day at home.  You know the work will be there when you return and it won’t really suffer from your small break. And, if you really ask yourself, you know that a day or two away from it will actually help you feel refreshed and renewed. And then, come January, you’ll be ready for that new listing and that client event and a productive spring market.