REFRAMING PRODUCTIVITY IN YOUR PROPERTY BUSINESS

Quite often it’s not more new information that we need, but instead what we need is being reminded of something we already know that we will now commit to actioning. Would you agree?

This post is prompted by a discussion I had during an online coaching call I was hosting this week. That conversation led me to look up a post I wrote over 3 years ago, and I wanted to share it again and refresh it as the message is so impactful for people starting and growing their property investing business.

A few years ago I learned a new definition of ‘productivity’ and I’d like to share it again now and possibly challenge your existing perspective with it.

For decades (and no doubt generations) we humans have scoured productivity books and resources in search of the silver silver bullet to magically help us get more of what we want done. I’m not sure how many books have actually been written on the subject but a quick search for productivity books on amazon brought up over 30,000.

It was brought to my attention by one of my mentors in the US that we can typically sort productivity into 3 main categories, as follows:

#1 – WORK HARDER – so in other words increasing the output. For example in your property business this might be going on more property viewings per week, speaking to more agents per week, sending more letters direct to landlords, attending more networking events etc

#2 – WORK SMARTER – this would include time saving productivity hacks. For example in your property business this might include hiring a Virtual Assistant to help with admin, engaging a sourcing agent or two, batching similar work tasks, implementing systems and processes to prevent duplication and to automate some things. 

So those first two categories are logical, and everyone knows about them. What about this 3rd category however? This one was a new way for me to look at things when I learned about it in 2018, and it’s a game changer…..

#3 – BE BRAVER – maybe you are surprised to be reading this 3rd category, but have a think about what kind of action it includes – typically this would involve some kind of bold move, asking for something, risking your ego in some way. So in your property business for example this could be anything big or little that you are doing for the first time- it might be phoning a commercial agent for the first time, it might be asking for money from someone, proposing a creatively structured deal to a landlord direct, asking a prospective contractor guest for a commitment before you have a property. It might be posting a video on social media for the first time, doing a presentation, asking for an introduction….you get the picture. 

There are so many actions that will require a property investor/entrepreneur to have to draw on some courage in order to initiate something -actions that are uncomfortable to take at first. To be clear, I’m definitely not referring to any form of reckless bravery where one might leap before looking. What I’m referring to are the kind of interactions with other people that we may fear and hold back from. These interactions (that typically involve asking) may not take a long time, they do require drawing on a few seconds of courage, but once done could dramatically change your outcomes for the better. On the flip side you’ll also know that if you don’t take that uncomfortable action, then things won’t change. You’ll know exactly what these kinds of things might be in your property world.

IN CONCLUSION

The definition of productivity should be tilting towards this 3rd category because as my mentor put it, “Courage is the entrepreneurial force multiplier”. To be more productive we must optimise for courage. In many cases being courageous doesn’t take long, hence why it ranks so highly on the productivity scale 😁.

Ask yourself, what is the most courageous action you can take in your property business this week?

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