Learning to Prioritise Your Business and Yourself
Part of the #KEEPITREAL week
In the last #KEEPITREAL blog, we spoke all about the realities of being a self-employed property developer and a busy mum. We touched on the struggles you’ll likely face along the way if you do have kids, and what small things you can try to do at home to alleviate those particular pressures – I also opened up about my own battle with anxiety, due to the sheer overwhelm of spinning all those plates.
Now, in order to really achieve that perfect work-life balance, you’ll need to go further than just establishing childcare and a dedicated workspace. You need to look inwards, and understand that the root of overwhelm may lie within your business itself, and the way that you might be running it. Being a property developer involves wearing a lot of different hats, and when you’re just starting out in particular it can be really overwhelming to navigate everything.
When I was struggling with my period of overwhelm last year – juggling a million different things, missing deadlines, running here and there and everywhere – I was living from one second to the next, and it was pretty chaotic to say the least! My business was growing fast and thriving, but I was failing to keep up with it all and things were beginning to slip pretty fast. I put the majority of the stresses down to juggling parental duties and chores at home, but in fact, they were mostly fuelled by my own lack of routine and my reactive work style. How did I overcome it? Well, I worked really hard on nailing my working schedule and began to prioritise myself for once, as well as the structuring of my business.
When speaking to my HMO Mastermind ladies about what tips we could offer you on this topic, it was a huge eye-opener to just how much of a hot-topic this is for us. Each and every one of us had faced (and still do face at times) this sheer overwhelm, just from the amount of tasks and responsibilities we take on in this role. I’m really proud that we are all so honest about it, and that we all seem to be fighting like hell to overcome the overwhelm on the daily. Here are the things we do to help:
Take charge of your working hours ⚡
I spoke in the previous blog about how you should be more intentional with your work time, moving from a reactive work style of ‘if and when’, to a more structured routine. I know a lot of people choose to go self-employed for the flexibility benefits (which you can 100% still enjoy by the way), but if you truly want to overcome overwhelm and start preparing to scale your business, you will absolutely NEED to practice structure.
In a normal 9-5 job, prioritising your workload, setting achievable deadlines, and scheduling consistent working hours are all components in making your working week enjoyable and successful – the same things should apply for self-employed property developers too. We might not always be able to plan ahead with absolute clarity, and the property market might have a mind of its own the majority of the time, but we can definitely attempt to control our schedules much better regardless.
The biggest shift for my own business definitely came after deciding to take charge of my diary. I now structure my four working days a week down to the minute – I know when to turn my ‘work mode’ on, where I’ll be when, and what I’ll be working on each day. It’s been so liberating to have this visually mapped out ahead of time, knowing that I have allocated time for all of the things that I need to get done. Afterall, we all have the same amount of hours in the day but it’s how we choose to use them that counts.
STRUCTURE, STRUCTURE, STRUCTURE! It’s a game changer trust me. To give you a starting point, here is what my weekly diary looks like (COVID and homeschooling aside, because then the rule-book well and truly goes out of the window!)
- Monday – Admin
- Tuesday – AM business review with my Lettings and Ops Manager, PM Consultancy sessions
- Wednesday – Consultancy sessions
- Thursday – Meetings, appointments (biz and personal)
- Fridays – Off with my son before he starts school in September (and when I say ‘off’, I mean it’s a ‘no one contact me unless its an absolute emergency’ kinda off!)
- Every 3rd Monday of the month – I have a scheduled meeting with my Creative Communications Manager, Hannah. We look at the marketing schedule ahead, whats worked, what hasn’t worked. Then she goes off and makes the magic happen with clear direction for the following month
Its as simple as that!
What I’ve learnt in the short space of being a mum is that trying to juggle running a business and a new baby at the same time is not good for anyone! You don’t do either justice. Structure has been the most effective way for me to overcome the overwhelm of trying to juggle it all. I now have dedicated work hours and days. This has cleared up so much headspace and allows me to be fully present in the moment. Whether thats being a mum. Or being a property developer.
– Sarah, Maygreen Investments
Make yourself accountable ⚡
Of course, it’s pretty easy to plan your Google Calendar and make it look impressively organised, but sticking to those plans and making those booked-out days count is what really matters!
Working for yourself, with no colleagues to help you keep up the momentum and no boss looming over you to check-in, can make it trickier to stay motivated and on-the-ball. It’s incredibly easy to slack off and procrastinate when the deadlines are no ones but your own, but I know from experience that taking advantage of this too much will only lead to more stress later down the line when you’re left to play catch up!
Everyone’s working style is different, so you’ll have to find a method that suits you and motivates you to stay on track here, but you need to keep yourself accountable in someway (I mention below how I hold myself accountable through written documents, as I’m a very visual person.)
Maybe a mentor, or a dedicated support network, would work better for you if you are driven by communication and connection? Someone who you can discuss your goals with in-depth, and who is responsible for checking-in with you along the way to keep you on track (or to help you reevaluate your decisions). I have used this approach myself during my earlier days as a property developer, and the experience of being held accountable by someone who knows what they are talking about is simply invaluable.
Write it down ⚡
I’m a super visual person. I use simple written to-do lists and Asana, alongside my organised schedule, to visualise; my priorities, my (and my team’s) outstanding tasks, and any upcoming deadlines. It allows me to see if I’m running behind, if I’ve forgotten to do something important, or if someone is waiting on me to do something.
Having lists like this in writing helps me to visualise the weeks and months ahead, and allows me to check-in to see the progress I have made. We also use a similar method for our HMO Mastermind members, but in the form of a quarterly scorecard that details their goals and the activities they’ll need to do in order to reach them. It’s a really great way to visualise your success markers and stay accountable to them.
I have started journaling which really helps when my head is muddled and you can’t see a clear path forward. Just by writing everything down, it gets it out of your head and you can see a lot clearer how to move forward – un-cluttering your mind. I also couldn’t live without a good list! My advice would be to break down your to-do list into tiny sections so that it feels more manageable.
– Vicky, VH Martin Investments
Put systems and processes in place ⚡
Getting your business running more smoothly (even just the tiniest bit to start with), can make all the difference in how overwhelming everything feels. Here’s a quick overview of the systems we use at BEESPACE to run the different parts of the business and communicate effectively with the team:
- Asana – Task management
- Slack – General communication
- Trello – Moodboarding + visualising ideas
- Dropbox – Storage
- Arther – Tenant management
- Microsoft to-do list – This is just for me to remember tasks in some sort of order that I can write down as-and-when they pop into my head before they go on Asana
- Google Calendar – Time management
When I first started in property, I was smaller and could therefore keep things running smoothly, easily keep on top of ‘administration’ weekly, and I was disciplined. I had good overall project management and asset management skills from my corporate life – I used the same trades team and support services like solicitors and my broker, to help things run smoother. However as my business has grown, it hasn’t run as smoothly as I’d like it to, and I wish I’d have done what people recommended – systemise before you need it!
This year for me is all about systemising. Having run my lettings operation via spreadsheets previously, I’m moving to property management software, accounting software, and so on. It’s going to take longer with schools being off due to COVID, but I’ll get there!
– Clair, Blue Sky Spaces
We use Trello to keep organised. We have very distinctive roles so we know who is in charge of what. We work a lot with business partners, and it can be tricky as each joint venture has a different dynamic. But the aim is to leverage each others skills. We also have a virtual assistant who is dealing with the letting agent, and all the administration, so we’re kept up to date of all parts of the business.
– Bee, BeeVee Property
Ignore the noise ⚡
When I think of business overwhelm, I don’t just think about schedules, admin, and deadlines. For me, I find a big source of overwhelm and unease comes from watching others too closely, and in turn measuring my own success against theirs (or at least what they choose to show on Instagram).
On occasion, I would find myself getting lost in looking at other property developers and female business owners, admiring how they seemed to have it ‘all together’, running their businesses so effortlessly – I’d be lying if I said that I didn’t often question if I was doing a good enough job of managing everything, but more on that one tomorrow!
As I’ve grown in confidence, and been lucky enough to gain a few more Insta followers along the way (12k woohoo!), it dawned on me that others now may do the exact same thing to me, as I used to do to other property developers. Whilst it’s important to find motivation and encouragement in the success of others, please do NOT compare your journey to theirs. The best thing you can do for yourself, and your business, is to keep your eyes on your own path, and don’t get too wrapped up in what you think you should be doing. Comparison is a huge, huge factor in overwhelm, and it’s downright toxic. You do you, and let them do them!
I’ll cover more on dealing with self-doubt and what’s known as ‘imposter syndrome’ in the next #KEEPITREAL post – so keep watch if that’s something you’re currently going through.
One thing at a time ⚡
Rome wasn’t built in the day – and a property business wasn’t built overnight either! Just take it step-by-step, and don’t feel like you need to do it all straight away.
I feel overwhelmed daily. Probably hourly! I am an ‘ideas person’, so my brain struggles to concentrate without coming up with the next big thing! I’m constantly battling with myself to focus. My partner calls me ‘half a job’ because I always seem to start something then end up doing something else. Sound familiar?! The biggest thing that helps me to overcome this and reduce the feeling of overwhelm is to tell myself to simply ‘focus on finishing ONE thing’ before I start something else. The feeling of accomplishment when I have lots of ticks on my to-do list definitely makes me feel better at the end of the day. Also remember – it’s impossible to do everything in a day, so go easy on yourself!
– Emma, Stylish Living
Book in ‘you time’ ⚡
Prioritising yourself, and your own mental health and happiness, is just as important as ensuring your business is a success. If you’re overwhelmed, overworked, and completely burnt-out, there is absolutely no way that you can produce good quality work, or even that your business can scale further.
We often overlook ourselves and put ourselves last on our priority list, but when our business relies solely on us being on top of our game, I think it’s vital we start to change that. Even the smallest acts of self-care can make all the difference to our own happiness.
If you find it hard to justify ‘time-out’, try and think of all those great companies out there that you could be working for right now. Employers who make the time and effort to organise team yoga sessions, wellbeing retreats, in-office dog visits, wellbeing allowances, the list goes on! Be that company and that kind of boss for yourself. Act as if you are your best and most precious employee – because you know if you invest in yourself, you will be investing back into your business in the long-run.
When building a business with a young family it’s so easy to be manic 24/7. It’s easy to run yourself into the ground and become ill. I’m far more productive when I make time for me and my health. Staying fit is massively important, I make sure I eat well, and I love to do yoga and run 3 times a week, it’s great thinking time and I return to my desk fully recharged. To totally switch off I play golf, anyone that plays will know you can’t think about anything else when you play otherwise you won’t play well. Perfect for clearing the brain!
– Emma, IKON Property
I think this has been one of the hardest things over the last year – the reduction in opportunity to take time away for yourself. I quite often found a day away – whether it be looking at property friends’ projects, or a day away with friends – brings me back to business thinking clearer, it somehow gave me time to see the way forward. Pre-COVID, I enjoyed going away overnight with friends – a change of scene, whether it be a spa or break. Like many, I found going to the gym or for a walk helps. I’m definitely missing being able to do this at the moment!
– Clair, Blue Sky Spaces
We understood the importance of this too late! But now, running a business, we are very aware that a day off, or even an afternoon with no phone, no computer and just doing something different is essential. We cannot have a healthy business if we don’t feel good ourselves. It is important to recognise it (but not easy to do!)
I go for a walk and listen to a podcast, property related or not! If I really need to switch off then I choose a windsurfing, outdoor sport or an entrepreneur French podcast that I love. Also we bought some painting-by-numbers for Christmas and it is very addictive and really allows us to let it go, as well as a Puzzle – it is almost like a meditation!
– Bee, BeeVee Property
Get outdoors and BREATHE ⚡
After living at The Dark Barn for a few weeks now, I can advocate so much for the mental health benefits of fresh air and the countryside! If you’re feeling overwhelmed and at the end of your rope, trust me on this one, just get your wellies on and get out there – and drag the kids along too if you can pull them away from their screens!
Being cooped up indoors all day, with the only options for leaving being on your one walk a day or to the local supermarket, it’s never been more important that you make time during the day to get outside and hit that restart button. You’ll feel so much better for it afterwards, and it’ll no doubt kickstart your business brain to get going again!
Go easy on yourself ⚡
As well as giving yourself ‘you’ time, you also need to give yourself some self-love. The best thing you can do for you stress-levels and how you feel about your business, is to go easy on yourself. We’re only human at the end of the day.
We definitely face overwhelm, often! To overcome it, I chose one action per day to do. If I have done it at the end of the day, I allow myself to see it as a win.
– Bee, BeeVee Property
I’m reminding myself to be kind to myself! Building a business, having another baby along the way, and then a global pandemic hitting – you aren’t going to be perfect!
– Clair, Blue Sky Spaces
Know when it’s time to ask for help ⚡
When the time comes where you get anxious looking at your maxed out calendar, and you simply cannot accept another project or opportunity, it’s probably time to consider the possibility of growing your business and your team further. Now’s the time to find your courage and own it!
I took the plunge and hired my first member of staff, Eli, last year. Eli is my Lettings and Operations Manager. and his main job is to look after my own property portfolio and support on the admin side as we grow. Eli is ace, I’d be lost without him by my side now. Whilst his employment admittedly added pressure to my workload – as I learnt how to be a boss, learnt to communicate my needs and ensure he was happy, along with working together to come up with new processes and ways of working – it was the best decision I’ve ever made!
#BEKIND to yourself ladies (and gents too if these tips resonate with you!)
