SOME GREAT IDEAS FOR GETTING REALLY ORGANISED IN 2018

Most agents agree that they are more productive when they are more organised, but in the rush to secure listings for January, handle the influx of calls from buyers who all want to move in time for the new school year, and persuade sellers not to take their homes off the market for the holidays, your office (and life) can end up pretty messy.

However, says Shaun Rademeyer, CEO of BetterLife Home Loans, SA’s biggest bond originator, help is at hand – if you are prepared to spend just 15 to 30 minutes a day working towards a pristine office and a streamlined work routine that is not only going to make you want to go back to work in January but keep making you more effective and prosperous all through 2018.

“This might seem counter-intuitive when you look at the current chaos, but you should not fall into the trap of thinking you will only be able to clear it up if you have several hours or days of uninterrupted time and putting it off until that time materialises.

“The truth is, that time will probably never arrive and things will just get worse. You should rather just block out a small amount of time each day to make a start and then keep working on your organising tasks. This is a major time-management secret used by many of the world’s most successful business people.

“It will help you stick to a routine and will increase your motivation as you see things steadily improving.”

To get you started, here is a list of 10 tasks that can each be accomplished in under 30 minutes:

•  Delete all old, unnecessary emails;
•  Unsubscribe from all those e-newsletters that you never get time to read and just clutter up your inbox;
•  Dust and vacuum your office or clean out the office fridge;
•  Clean out your handbag, wallet and car boot and file the receipts you need for your expense claims and tax returns;
•  Tackle one of the piles of mail / paper work on your desk and don’t put anything back on the pending pile;
•  Update your email address book or client database;
•  Research one new app or product that might improve your productivity;
•  Go through all the numbers / contacts on your phone, delete the ones you don’t need and make a list of people to call over the next few days;
•  Reorganise/ repack your marketing materials and order any items that you need;
•  Set up one new organizational system on your computer, such as a new digital filing system for your sellers, buyers, marketing campaigns and house pictures.