Take charge anyone?

During a conversation the other day in the office, a real estate agent stopped me in the hall almost in tears. "What's the matter", I said.

She said that the business was driving her crazy with the long hours, the evening phone calls, not to mention her family duties. She was constantly being barraged with interruptions and crises.

I wondered where is it written that you give up control of your life when you receive your real estate license or enter any other personal services business? The more control you take of your life/business the better for all concerned, including your clients. Personal and business boundaries are important and often overlooked in the scramble to be all things to all people.

I suggested that she try these simple steps: The next time business cards are printed leave off the home and cell numbers. When these numbers are included, the expectation is set that you can be called 24/7.

Is this really necessary or good? I think not. The last time I checked, most of you are not practicing emergency room medicine. My experience of over 28 years without a real job tells me that there is (almost) nothing that can not wait. And anyway, if you had a client in the car or across your desk, you certainly would not be rude enough to answer your cell phone, would you?

Treat this like a real job. By that I mean have regular hours like on your last real job. Have a firm start time and a firm stop time. Exhibit some discipline with your career. If you are not quite feeling perfect, don't take the day off unless you could do this on a real job. The last time I had a job, I showed up, period. You would too.

Take our your calendar and block out time for you and your family. Schedule time for exercise, study, meditation/prayer and your family. Put these items in ink. Don't change them.

Work on these new habits for a month to see if you can make the changes indicated.

To your continued success,

Reg Gupton