sounds like a plan...maybe then we wouldn't have to be up at 5am...I definitely need to get more organized. 

Working smart is what we try to do. We time block our activities so that we can get them done. I have to have my down time to enjoy!

I am working on getting my systems in place -- organization, time management, etc is some of the keys to success!

Taking time off is really important.  I finally made myself take some time off this summer and it did wonders for me.

Hi Carol, I am in the process of awitching to time management and being more organized.  It can take over you life before you even know it.  Elizabeth Ward Small has some great ideas here on AR with her three B method, busy, balanced and blessed.  Good luck. 

Carol,

I usually work from about 4:00 in the morning until 2:00 pm when I pick my daughter up from school (I'm a single Dad of the most beautiful 10-year old in the world!) <---okay, I MIGHT be partial!! LOL!

We frequently go to our local coffee hangout, where I order my Venti Iced Mocha...and she gets a smoothie of some sort. There are a group of regulars there in the afternoon....and we LOVE sitting outside enjoying the conversation...the "sometimes" fresh air (Southern California)...and the break from it all.

If we want...we'll do a little shopping or whatever prior to heading home, where I'll put in another 2-3 hours before dinner. After dinner and once Maddy's asleep...there are likely another 2-4 hours work before I finally call it a day.

I get a lot done...and probably would consider myself a workaholic. BUT...it's simply amazing the "rejuicing" that gets done just from taking a well-deserved 2-hour break. It completely clears my head...and I feel totally rejuvenated when I get back home to my office.

The organization part?? Well...that's necessary whether you put in 1 hour a day...or 15 hours a day. De-cluttering your life...will definitely help de-clutter your brain. But without a little time off (whether a couple days every once in a while....or a couple hours every day)...I don't think I'd get nearly the amount of work accomplished as I do.

Dave

I still don't understand the "take time off" part unless it was tossed in to favor our competition.  What can we achieve by taking time off but lose business.  We spend weeks, months, years building a business and then we're advised to abandone it regularly to "take time off"??? 

If one has someplace to go or something that needs to be done, go and do it.  But, to take time off for the sake of taking time off, is just a waste of time to me.

I love my work.  I love my home.  I love my daily routine which is never dull and I love running a successful business. 

Just taking time off wouldn't benefit me in the least.  Whereever I would want to go, I've been.  Whatever I would want to do, I've done.  Let me work and build and achieve success. 

Travel isn't the fun it used to be.  Keep me out of the airports and off the highways and I'm happy.

Carol, a good plan to follow. It exemplifies the saying, "Work Smarter Not Harder". Time management may not be critical in a slow market, but when it turns you'll be ready. Thanks.

Carol:  Just got back from 10 days in Colorado in the mountains.  We all need time to re-tool and re-craft ourselves...  And most importantly to spend quality time with those we love.  Personally when my time on earth is done, I hope to look back at cherished times with friends and family and not 100 closings per year for the past X years.  Business is important, but it is not "me", nor does it define me.  I pity those who are so wrapped up in real estate that they have no family and no life!

Gary Keller has it right:  God first, Family Next, then Business (and managed wisely so that your time is shared among ALL the important things)...  <rant over - LOL>

Organization is critical for me since I am a one person office right now.  But, take time off -- that only happens when I collapse and can't move.  ~ Evelyn

It's amazing how a bit of time management and prioritizing can add those "hidden" hours back into the week.