Tag Archives: Productivity

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3 Reasons You Need a Robot

Stop doing what you hate and maximize your time

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There are certain things I don’t like to do. In fact, if there are minute details involved, I’m probably not very happy.

My wife doesn’t like to vacuum. I’m not sure I know anyone who does. But she likes clean floors. The reality is, she can do much more important things that vacuum our floors.

So for Mother’s Day this year, the kids and I pooled our resources and bought my wife a Roomba. If you aren’t familiar, it is a robot vacuum cleaner. And it is awesome. Remember that big hockey puck on wheels in Breaking Bad – that’s it.

Today, my wife spent the morning volunteering at our children’s school. That is a much more valuable use of her time. And while she was there, our robot vacuum was cleaning our floors. She made a great choice in how she spent her time. She didn’t do a task she didn’t like. And the floors a clean.

You need a robot.

In fact, every person should buy a robot for these 3 reasons.

  1. You have regular tasks you don’t like – This is a quality of life issue. What are the things you just don’t like to do. Make a list. Now which ones of those are recurring? These are candidates for automation. What kind of robot can handle these for you? Maybe it is rules you can set up in your inbox. Maybe you need a virtual assistant. Maybe you need to use the staff in your office better. But if it is repeatable, you can train someone else to do it.
  2. You have better things to do with your time – This is an efficiency issue. Most of you reading this blog likely have an income goal for the year. To hit that goal, you need to make a certain amount an hour. Do you know what that number is? When you spend your limited time on tasks that aren’t worth that number, you are falling behind your pace. You have to know what your time is worth and make decisions accordingly.
  3. Tasks still need to get done – This is just reality. Just because you don’t like it or it isn’t the best use of your time – that doesn’t mean that you can ignore it. I’ve tried. But you don’t have to be the one to do it. Build a system that can handle it.

You need a robot. Your robot could take many forms. It might be an assistant or a virtual assistant. It could just be creating a system for your team to follow. Maybe it is as simple as batching your tasks to maximize your productivity.

Question: What one thing can you identify this week that needs to get done, is a poor use of your time, and that you do not like to do? Now go get you a robot! You can leave a comment by clicking here.

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How to Achieve Virtual Freedom – Day 8 of 30 D2aBB

Anything that Anyone Else Can Do They Should Do

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Entrepreneurs suffer from what John Maxwell calls the Law of the Lid. This law says that the entrepreneur is the cap on what can be accomplished. In other words, he or she is the bottle-neck of their own business. Most entrepreneurs I know suffer from some version of this. The truth is just because you can do it better doesn’t mean that you should.

How to Achieve Virtual Freedom

There is one particular conversation I have had with my wife about 4 times now. We had it again just last week.

I want to hire someone to come and clean the house. She doesn’t like to clean (though she does a great job). And I want to free her up so she can spend her time on other things. Seems like a no-brainer, right?

The problem is she doesn’t want a house-cleaner. She stays home with the kids. She feels like it is part of her responsibility to clean the house.

What I think she is missing is that our family would run better if she spent her time on the most important things. My guess is that if I asked her to make a list of the most important things, physically cleaning the house wouldn’t be on it. Spending time with our kids would be on the list. Volunteering in their schools would be on the list. Working out and taking care of herself would be on the list. Have more time for the things that matter – that is real benefit of a house cleaner.

The same is true in your business. What is it that you are doing that you shouldn’t be doing?

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30 Days to a Better Business Challenge – Day 1

Let's Dust Complacency and Break Through to the Next Level

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I am a Dave Ramsey fan. I think I started listening to him on the radio when I was in high school. His latest book, Entreleadership, is outstanding. I would highly recommend it if you haven’t read it already.

Dave has this saying about momentum. He says that momentum is focused intensity over time.

30 days to a better business social image

I love that.

Don’t we all want a little more momentum in our lives – or a lot? Momentum is that mysterious force that makes things go your way. If you share my worldview, you would call it favor. Regardless, it is a great place to be.

I’m challenging you to manufacture some focused intensity – over the next 30 days. Each weekday over the next 30 days, I’m going to publish a blog post. Understandably, these posts are going to be a little shorter than what I normally post. However, they will be packed full of tactics and best practices you can instantly apply to your business.

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How to Capture and Keep the Unicorn Called Inbox-Zero

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Email is the bane of my existence. It is the constant interrupter. It knocks me off schedule. It distracts. Yet, it is important. It is one of the major forms of communication I use.

This post has a lot of goodies for you. I have created a cheat sheet for you to download and take with you.

Download Your Email Inbox-Zero Cheat Sheet

Let me make a confession. I had 954 emails in my inbox yesterday. It was like my inbox was 954-lbs – just weighing me down.

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I received an email from John Lee Dumas this week that has shifted my paradigm regarding email. I am writing this post to myself as I want to solidify this change in thinking. I also want to execute and solve my email problem once and for all.

OPA

Have you ever heard of OPA before? I hadn’t until I read JLD’s email. OPA stands for Other People’s Agenda. That is what the email inbox is. A collection of emails.  All of them are seeking to get you on their agenda. That almost makes me mad. So here is my plan to effectively and efficiently deal with my inbox. To be clear, I am defining daily email success as reaching inbox zero every day.

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How You Can Become a Top Producer

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So many settle for mediocrity.  I have done it myself.  I despise that place.  You can see others around you excelling at what they do – what you could do.  You may find yourself asking, “Is it even possible for me to have that kind of success?”  Good question.

The Four  Not-So-Secret

I started playing the guitar when I was 14 years old.  I was looking for something that I could be good at.  I had already realized it wasn’t going to be sports.  I took a few months of lessons and then kept playing.  By the time I got to college, I was OK at best.

Then Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds played a show at my college.  They were incredible.  Two guys with their acoustic guitars on stage playing.  No band.  Just them.

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[Video] Ask Bo – A Question from Brian Fleming

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In this edition of Ask Bo, Brian Fleming submits his question.  Brian is a CRE pro from Fort Lauderdale and wants to know my take on all the new CRE tech apps that seem to come out on a weekly basis.

How can you remain productive if you are spending all your time trying to learn new applications?  Great question.

I share the 4 essential CRE applications (or software) you absolutely need to remain competitive.  And I also share a huge need that the CRE industry needs.

Be sure to connect with Brian on these platforms:

Links from the video:

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Why You Will Never Dominate Your Market – These 7 Reasons

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If you are reading this blog, it is likely that you want more.  You want to improve your productivity, your prospecting, your presence, your something.  Nobody gets up every morning with the goal of being mediocre.  Ultimately, you want to dominate your market.  But the truth is, you can’t.

7 Reasons You Will Never Dominate Your Market

My kids are in the driveway right now playing basketball with the neighbor kids.  When I was their age, the Bad Boys version of the Detroit Pistons were winning championships.  I remember playing in the driveway and pretending I was Isaiah Thomas and Joe Dumars.

I wanted to dominate a basketball game the way they did. But I topped out at 5’7” with less than average athletic ability and a suspect jump shot.  I was never going to dominate a basketball game.

And you are never going to dominate your market because of these 7 reasons.

7 Reasons You Will Never Dominate Your Market

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New Feature – Ask Me a Question

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One of my desires this year is to make this blog more interactive with my readers…with you.  I recently stumbled across a really cool app/plugin that is going to help me do so.

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You can now ask me a question, via your computer, directly through this blog.  Here is how it works.

  1. Click on the Send Voicemail button on the right middle of any page on my blog.BoBarron.com Speakpipe
  2. Make sure your mic is on.
  3. Record a question up to 90 seconds in length.  The app lets you listen to your message and re-record so don’t fret about flubbing up.
  4. Be sure to include your name, location, and your website – so I can send traffic your way.
  5. Feel free to ask me anything about main topics of this blog – or anything else.  Prospecting, Productivity, Personal Development, Creating Presence, or Life Lessons.
  6. At least one a month, I will choose a question to answer.  And if you are really lucky, I will post my response with video!
  7. The chosen question will receive a prize!

So what has been on your mind?  What would you like to ask?  I certainly don’t have all the answers, but we can all learn together.

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The 4 Needs of Every New to the Business Broker

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On March 18 at 2pm EST, Rod Santomassimo and I are hosting a free webinar – How to Thrive as a New to the Business Broker. We will be covering in more depth the content of this post. You can register below!

I remember the first day I started in commercial real estate.  I got out of the Marine Corps the day before.  All of the sudden, I’m wearing civilian clothes and standing in a blank office.  There was a phone and a laptop on my desk and little else.  If I’m being honest, I didn’t have a clue what to do.

The 4 Things Every New To The Business

I spent the next two years trying to figure it out.  I shadowed my dad constantly.  I noticed how he handled situations – what he said to clients and prospects.  I was soaking it all in.  I battled the nagging thought in my mind that said, “Why would anyone want to work with you when they could work with your dad.”

I lacked confidence.  I lacked a framework.  I lacked understanding about what were the most important things.  I didn’t know what I didn’t know.

Commercial real estate is not easy.  Most new to the business (N2B) brokers don’t make it past their first year.  I was fortunate that I had a dad who wouldn’t let me fail.  Everyone doesn’t have that.  This is why Rod Santomassimo, founder and president of the Massimo Group, and I are hosting a free webinar later this week on How to Thrive as a New to the Business Broker.

We believe any N2B broker can thrive if they focus on 4 critical needs.

4 Needs of Every N2B Broker

  1. Pipeline – A broker’s pipeline is the bloodline for his/her business.  In fact, a 10-year study showed that the amount of time between a broker’s first and second deal accurately predicted the long-term success of their career.  A N2B broker needs deal flow in a full and vibrant pipeline.
  2. Prospecting – Prospecting is how you fill up your pipeline.  I spoke with a N2B broker last week who said his shop gave him a phone and a book of property owners.  His directive was to start calling.  Is that the best way to prospect?  How do you learn and apply the best prospecting practices of top-producing brokers?
  3. Production – Prospecting is one thing, but what do you do when you start to win some business?  How do you get that exclusive to the finish line so you can actually get paid?  In many industries, you gain a client when the prospect buys something.  There is an added step in real estate.  You have to find the business, then win the business, and then fulfill the business.  Then you get paid.
  4. Planning – How should a N2B broker spend his/her time?  Should it be on research?  20 hours a week prospecting?  Networking? Oh that someone would have given me a blueprint at the start of my career that could have accelerated my success.
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Why You Should Time-Block to Maximize Your Productivity

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This post is about WHY you should time block. I’ve attached a worksheet at the bottom you can download for free. The worksheet is all about HOW to time-block. It is my gift to you because you rock and I’m thankful for you.

At the beginning of 2014, I posted a reader’s survey which hundreds of you took part in (thank you, by the way.)  One question I asked was which topic that I write about do you enjoy the most.  The clear winner was productivity.

productivity, time blocking, time management

This is me with no margin in my life.

I asked another question about the biggest problem you are facing right now.  The overwhelming winner here was ‘not enough time.’

For all of you who can relate, this post is for you.  Frankly, I often find myself in the same boat.  What I wouldn’t give for 30 hours in a day or 8 days in a week.  Time-blocking is the single most impactful tool I use to maximize my productivity.

Time blocking is the practice of scheduling appointments with yourself, on your actual calendar (whether a digital camera of a DayTimer if you are my mom), and then honor your appointments with yourself.

I believe everyone should maximize their productivity by time-blocking for these 5 reasons.

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