Mom’s Are Real, Too
Juggling the responsibilities of being a busy mom and a successful Real Estate Agent can make life seem like a three-ring circus. You might have seen the movie Baby Boom portray Diane Keaton as some superhuman, multi-tasking goddess and working mother, but you have rarely been walked through the steps it takes to embody this ideal.
Mom vs. Agent
Balancing motherhood and work-life can seem overwhelming, but what it all narrows down to is finding the separation between the two roles in order to effectively and successfully commit to both of them. I’m sure you’ve all experienced the banging on the door by your five-year-old while you’re in the middle of a conference call with prospective clients; or while in the middle of showing a multi-million dollar house to your eager-to-buy clients, you get a call from school letting you know your child has just contracted chicken pox, bird flu, an ear infection, and bronchitis…all at once. How do we balance the two lives? By finding a way to separate the two and be completely present in each one of them. Here are a few tips on how to be present in each of the roles you have accepted.
100% Presence – Moment to Moment
Being in the moment, for every moment, is probably the hardest thing to successfully achieve persistently. When have you made your most important decisions and greatest negotiations? Probably when you have committed completely and fully to the task at hand. When we don’t give 100%, we know it, and the people around us notice it as well. Whether you are at the office, with a client, or at home with your children, it is important to commit 100% to whatever you are doing. This effort to committing your “all” will strengthen both your work relationships and your relationship with your children.
Mom Mode
Remember that at the end of the day, the minute you step out of your office, you are mom. Before you leave the office, make sure you have gone over what you need to do the next day by writing out a list and entering your commitments for tomorrow in your calendar. Clear your head of everything you have done that day and put on paper what you need to do tomorrow so that you won’t have to worry about these things until the next day. Even on the drive home, clear your head of all of your preoccupations, listen to music that puts you in “mom mode,” and before you leave your car and go inside the house, count to ten, take deep breaths; do whatever it takes to remind yourself that you’re mom, and you’re home. If you have a home office, do not go back into your office or sit at your desk until the next day. It is tempting to check your e-mail or your voicemail after dinner because you’re waiting for the result of that counter offer, but RESIST THE TEMPTATION. It is time for your children now.
Allot Blank time in Your Calendar for Surprises
Make sure that you have allotted enough time on your calendar for surprises throughout the day. Whether it is your child getting sick or a leak in your sink, allotting blank time in your calendar will relieve you of the stress that might occur if your schedule was completely tight. If surprises do occur at an inopportune moment, reschedule your appointments, or if that is impossible, ask a friend or your husband to pick up your sick child for a couple of hours to help you out. Favors are necessary as a working mom. Although we want people to think we are superhuman, we have to accept that it is impossible to juggle everything thrown at us at the same time.
Life happens, surprises happen, and work happens, the only thing you can do as a working mom in real estate to balance it all successfully is to commit 100% to anything you do.
Real Estate and Life Coach Cheri Alguire has partnered with hundreds of Real Estate Professionals to help them become more successful in business and in life. Coach Cheri offers Group Coaching for Moms, Working Mothers and Pregnant Women in Real Estate, on how to balance careers with family responsibility. Learn more at http://www.realestatemoms.com, and visit Coach Cheri’s Real Estate Moms blog atReal Estate Moms.
Juggling the responsibilities of being a busy mom and a successful Real Estate Agent can make life seem like a three-ring circus. You might have seen the movie Baby Boom portray Diane Keaton as some superhuman, multi-tasking goddess and working mother, but you have rarely been walked through the steps it takes to embody this ideal.
Mom vs. Agent
Balancing motherhood and work-life can seem overwhelming, but what it all narrows down to is finding the separation between the two roles in order to effectively and successfully commit to both of them. I’m sure you’ve all experienced the banging on the door by your five-year-old while you’re in the middle of a conference call with prospective clients; or while in the middle of showing a multi-million dollar house to your eager-to-buy clients, you get a call from school letting you know your child has just contracted chicken pox, bird flu, an ear infection, and bronchitis…all at once. How do we balance the two lives? By finding a way to separate the two and be completely present in each one of them. Here are a few tips on how to be present in each of the roles you have accepted.
100% Presence – Moment to Moment
Being in the moment, for every moment, is probably the hardest thing to successfully achieve persistently. When have you made your most important decisions and greatest negotiations? Probably when you have committed completely and fully to the task at hand. When we don’t give 100%, we know it, and the people around us notice it as well. Whether you are at the office, with a client, or at home with your children, it is important to commit 100% to whatever you are doing. This effort to committing your “all” will strengthen both your work relationships and your relationship with your children.
Mom Mode
Remember that at the end of the day, the minute you step out of your office, you are mom. Before you leave the office, make sure you have gone over what you need to do the next day by writing out a list and entering your commitments for tomorrow in your calendar. Clear your head of everything you have done that day and put on paper what you need to do tomorrow so that you won’t have to worry about these things until the next day. Even on the drive home, clear your head of all of your preoccupations, listen to music that puts you in “mom mode,” and before you leave your car and go inside the house, count to ten, take deep breaths; do whatever it takes to remind yourself that you’re mom, and you’re home. If you have a home office, do not go back into your office or sit at your desk until the next day. It is tempting to check your e-mail or your voicemail after dinner because you’re waiting for the result of that counter offer, but RESIST THE TEMPTATION. It is time for your children now.
Allot Blank time in Your Calendar for Surprises
Make sure that you have allotted enough time on your calendar for surprises throughout the day. Whether it is your child getting sick or a leak in your sink, allotting blank time in your calendar will relieve you of the stress that might occur if your schedule was completely tight. If surprises do occur at an inopportune moment, reschedule your appointments, or if that is impossible, ask a friend or your husband to pick up your sick child for a couple of hours to help you out. Favors are necessary as a working mom. Although we want people to think we are superhuman, we have to accept that it is impossible to juggle everything thrown at us at the same time.
Life happens, surprises happen, and work happens, the only thing you can do as a working mom in real estate to balance it all successfully is to commit 100% to anything you do.
Real Estate and Life Coach Cheri Alguire has partnered with hundreds of Real Estate Professionals to help them become more successful in business and in life. Coach Cheri offers Group Coaching for Moms, Working Mothers and Pregnant Women in Real Estate, on how to balance careers with family responsibility. Learn more at http://www.realestatemoms.com, and visit Coach Cheri’s Real Estate Moms blog atReal Estate Moms.