Bernice Ross
Have you ever found yourself staring at your work and realized your mind is somewhere else? Have you read the same passage in a document several times and still didn’t understand it? When you find your focus is dwindling or non-existent, this is an excellent time to take a break.
The type of break you choose has a huge impact on how effective you will be with your clients as well as coping with the ongoing challenges and stress you face daily in your real estate business.
Research shows that humans have limited attention spans and that periodic breaks are necessary to operate at peak performance. In fact, even at peak attention, your concentration only lasts a few seconds before your brain shifts to another thought. This is especially true today in today’s click-and-swipe digital environment.
The simple way to tell if your break was effective is to ask, “Do I feel energized after taking this break or do I feel more drained?” If you’re feeling fresh and ready to get back to the task at hand, you had an effective break. If not, you should consider taking a different type of break.
If you would like to take more refreshing breaks that boost your effectiveness, consider trying some of the strategies below.
Change Your Location
One of the best ways to take a break is to change your physical location in conjunction with a major change in the type of activity. For example, if you’ve been sitting at the computer, go outside and exercise or pull weeds. If you’ve been working hard outside, curl up with a book on the sofa. The goal is to change both the nature, as well as the location, of your break activity.
An essential element of taking a break is that you decide the activity that constitutes a break. If someone else calls you away to engage in a different activity, that does not constitute a break. Instead, you’re merely substituting one activity for another. The goal is to find an activity that will relax and yet energize you so you can be fresh, alert, and focused when you return back to work.
But you also want to avoid confusing “diversions” with “breaks.” For example, if you’ve working on the computer and your break is playing computer games, you’ve only created a diversion, not a true break. Remember, a break requires both a change of location and activity. It’s making both shifts that will maximize your productivity and focus.
Create a Supportive Environment
It’s also useful to make sure you’re creating a supportive environment that enhances your break effectiveness
For example, keep the area you work in separate from your other areas. College students often read their textbooks in bed. Since their bed is associated with sleep, soon, so is their textbook. The key here is to separate your work area from your recreational areas.
Your schedule can be part of that supportive environment, too, if you program periodic breaks throughout the day.
Write these down in your appointment book and keep these as you would any important appointment. While it often is tempting to book something else in these time slots, including working with clients, avoid falling into this trap. Planning your breaks in advance helps you to create a rhythm and balance to your schedule.
Waiting too long to break can allow you to get a second wind and keep right on going until you’ve just completely run out of energy. A lengthy recovery time is generally required. No individual or team can run hot all the time. Carefully managing your energy will help you to retain your creativity and humor no matter if you’re negotiating a deal or baking a cake.
Ultimately, when it comes to taking an effective break that will also help you reduce the stress of being in the real estate business, the goal is to take enough of a break to energize you without dampening your motivation for completing your other commitments. In fact, why don’t you try taking a break right now?
Bernice Ross is a nationally syndicated columnist, author, trainer and speaker on real estate topics. She can be reached at bernice@realestatecoach.com.
