Time is at a premium. We all want to save time and increase productivity. Property management is no exception and implementing these time management techniques will increase your productivity. You will be able to conduct more efficient property inspections and other property management tasks which will result in happier clients.
Delegation
In the property management business delegation of tasks is your friend. Delegation is important because it frees up the more experienced property managers and gives experience to those who need it. One task that is easily delegated is digital property inspection. Property inspection apps are on the rise. They save time and make property inspection more efficient.
Do It
If a property management task will take you less than five minutes, do it. Don’t procrastinate. Procrastination makes the task easily forgotten. Clients don’t appreciate it if you forget to check on their property or send them a status report. Many times we forget just how little time it takes to send an email or return a quick call. Phone calls can be a little tricky. A five minute call is appropriate if it is just a quick update or to call and tell the client that you received their call and would like to set a time to address their issue or question in full. If it will take more than five minutes then you can move on to the next D.
Deadline
If a task will take more than five minutes, pick a date and time for your deadline. Then, you can work on those tasks during the time where you’ve delegated a task to someone else. When you are busy documenting a property inspection or discussing a matter with one client and something else comes across your desk, give it a deadline. The deadline could even be the same day if it is something small. The key there is to focus on the most important task and get it completed.
Dump It
Let’s face it. Sometimes email can overwhelm us. We may get an email with an interesting concept that we’d like to explore, but we have other pressing matters. If you have emails that aren’t related to a current task that are more than a month old, dump them. If it were important, it would be done by now. Another item to dump is manual property inspection. Using property inspection software will save you time.
Desk Management
Desk organization is a game changer. As much as we love to multi-task, our brains would rather focus on one thing at a time. Often, that’s why our minds wander to other things that are on our desks besides the current task. Put your cell phone out of sight and on silent. Take the property management files you aren’t working on and put them away. Optimize your desk for productivity. Turn off the email alert noise from your computer. If you must, add reminders to check your email. Only check your email during those designated times and do not spend more than 15 minutes at a time in your inbox.
