Work Life Balance: How I Took A Vacation Without Losing Any Clients

Happy New Year. I hope you had a wonderful holiday season. This holiday season, my family and I traveled to Nigeria and just had a wonderful experience resting in the sun, eating good food, spending time with family, and just really, really enjoying quality time. Here are some strategies that really helped me to be present while I was on my trip, but at the same time to still take care of business at home in real estate. One of the first things I did was really just prepare before I left. Before I left, I made sure all my laundry and everything was done for back to school. I had my kids stuff already hung up in the closet. I was able to kind of put out their things and we are ready for the first week of school. I also made sure that I had my house cleaned. I also went through my emails and responded to any relevant emails before I left and kind of just put my business on autopilot while I was away. I also took the time to write out a plan while I was in the plane and while I was away. So that when I, by the time I landed, I was just able to completely relax and sleep for at least 24 hours, which I truly, truly needed that. The fact that I took the time to really rest during this trip is so different from previous trips because I've always been very anxious that I would miss a lead or miss an opportunity or miss working with a client that I never took the time to truly enjoy myself. I was always attached to my phone. I was always stressed out while I was away and I just would come back feeling even worse than when I left. I would just be tired when I got back and I realized this time I did not want to do that. So I made sure that I did a little bit every single day to set me up for when I would return back home. This time of rest was so important because I didn't realize just how tired I was from the daily grind of real estate, family life, and just living in general. Real estate is a very time-sensitive business, so I had to make sure I had time to respond to different home inspection notices. I had to write an offer for a client. I was able to negotiate an extension for clients. I was able to schedule a home inspection. I was able to schedule an appraisal. I was able to still communicate with my client and let her know that, yes, I'm on vacation, but I'm still marketing your home and I'm still in touch with the buyer's agent at the same time. So all around everybody was happy because people are not loyal to you. They are loyal to the service that you provide. Another thing I did while I was on vacation is that I stayed on top of my inbox. I would take about 15 minutes every morning and every evening to check emails. There was about a six-hour difference between where I was. I would use a feature called send later so that I could schedule my emails to go out at 9 a.m. Eastern Standard Time. I was diligent about going in every day and taking out junk or spam mail that was coming in. And then I also spent dedicated time between one to three hours to return any urgent phone calls and just to send out any documents that I needed to do. Typically when I'm on a trip out of the country, one of the most important things that I need is access to an international plan and also a very strong Wi-Fi network at the hotel. So even if I'm away during the day and I know that I can't make a call, I know that once that I get to home base at night, I'll have 30 minutes to an hour to be able to respond to emails and do what I need to do during that time. Or if I'm away and we were able to maybe go out to get something to eat, I'll take that time to connect to their Wi-Fi and kind of respond to any emails that I need to respond to at that time. Other things, I just had to let some things go. I just had to trust the process that I would respond within 24 hours if I needed to. This trip just solidifies some of my personal goals for 2025, which is less stress, wellness, and just overall taking care of myself. So how was your holidays? How were you able to balance your holidays in your business as well if you have one? Did you completely shut down or were you still able to kind of stay on top of some tasks that you have? So what are some of your tips when you're away to kind of stay organized so that you're not coming back to like complete chaos? So for 2025, of course, you know that if you are in the Maryland DC metro area, you know anybody who's looking to buy or sell a home, I'm happy to assist them. If you're not in the DC metro area, I can always refer you to an agent within my realtor network. I'll also be offering one-on-one coaching and mentorship so you can schedule a call to discuss your real estate goals. Also, my love for time management and beautiful spaces has caused me to pursue my contractor's license. So if you or anyone you know is interested in renovations in 2025, give me a call. I'm happy to help you figure it out. So how did you spend the holidays? What are your goals for 2025? And how do you plan to incorporate work-life balance into your new year? Let's make 2025 a year of balance, growth, and success. See you in the next video. Please like, comment, and subscribe if you want to see more of these type of videos. Have a great one.