Kids Home for Summer? How Real Estate Agents Can Remain Productive

The kids are officially out of school for the summer — and you can bet they’re excited. For a busy real estate agent, though — especially one who works from home — the news is a little less appealing.

How will you get your work done with the kiddos home? What about taking calls or attending showings? With school out, working in the real estate industry certainly gets more complicated.

Fortunately, it’s not an impossible challenge. Learn how to be a productive real estate agent with our top 5 tips:

Here are five ways real estate agents can remain productive once school’s out for summer

1. Carve out a private workspace.

With the kids home, working from the couch probably isn’t going to afford you much quiet, so make sure to designate a workspace just for you. Could you put a desk in the corner of your bedroom? Or even in a closet somewhere? Ideally, it’s somewhere with a door (or at least a curtain) you can close when you take a phone call or are in a Zoom meeting. Having this private workspace will increase your productivity and help you become a more successful real estate agent.

2. Make your calendar visible.

Put up a big dry erase calendar somewhere central in the house, and mark down the days/times you’ll be unavailable or have meetings or showings. This lets the kids (and anyone else who lives in your house) know not to disturb you during these hours. Placing your calendar in a more visible space will also improve your task management which is crucial for succeeding in the real estate business.

3. Sync up with a neighbor.

Many people are still working remotely, even post-pandemic. If you have a neighbor in the same boat, sync up with them and agree to share child-watching duties. Could they watch your kids Tuesdays, while you watch theirs Thursdays? This can give you both guaranteed work time and make it easier to do off-site tasks like attending an open house or showing a property to a client.

4. Take advantage of bedtime.

Once the kiddos are in bed (at night or for naps), use that time to do non-timely tasks, like updating your website, catching up on client emails, or writing listing descriptions. The more of these items you can knock out before they get up, the easier that next day will go.

5. Consider a babysitter.

Don’t forget: High-schoolers are out of school, too, so use those teenage neighbors to your advantage. Could they come keep an eye on the kids for a few hours a week to give you much-needed work time? It may cost a little cash, but it should pale in comparison to a traditional daycare bill. 

Enjoy it, too.

Kids are only small once, so take time to enjoy those summers as well. Plan an afternoon each week for some quality time or a fun outing. Real estate professionals deserve a break, too!