As part of Jennifer Allan's teleconference this week, I'm grateful for the opportunity to share my heart in the matter, Strategies of An Effective Mom.
Here's what I shared:
My family consists of my husband and my 19-month old son. I live next door to my sister who has a 2 1/2 year old son. I watch my nephew from Monday through Thursday until my sister comes home from work in San Antonio.
My son
An extremely strong-willed character like me, he won't take no for an answer. So, our personalities don't mesh well at times because I'm also highly-organized. Everything has its place and time. So, you can imagine what goes on in our home everyday. So, 19-months later, I learnt to be FLEXIBLE. I never liked that word, because to me, that's being weak. But my husband taught me that life can change in an instant and I have to make changes along the way. So, my life changed when I became a mother.
Prioritizing
Tell myself that if I don't get everything I need done that day, that's okay and perfectly acceptable.
I have a to-do list and I have strong desires to check off as many lists as I can on my white board. I dont know what'd I do without my white board or check-list.
Telling Myself "It's Okay"
Sometimes I dont get to check off anything on my list. I really had to learn to give myself alot of grace and forgiveness because I dont take those tasks lightly. I had to tell myself that it will be there tomorrow. And in the past, I consider that making excuses but now I have to accept it because my priorities in life have changed.
On days I don't get to accomplish everything, I make sure I prioritize from my death bed. It doesn't sound good but that's how I do it.
I never go down for the night until I know the things that matter to me, the things that will make a difference in people's lives are taken care of. That includes:
- Making sure my husband's needs are taken care of (He'll tell you that's not true, LOL)
- Making sure my son's needs are met, and
- Making sure my clients needs are met.
Sometimes, clients' needs could mean returning a phone call with an email at 11pm that night to tell them that I didn't get to work on the appraisal protest that day and I will get it done tomorrow. One thing is for sure, my clients always know that I took care of them that day. Sometimes, it could also mean that my husband has to go to bed on his own because I havent made all the appointments I needed for tomorrow.
A Baby Realtor
For the longest time, Boomer tagged along showings since he was 7 months old. My clients saw me as a person, a mother first before they see me as a real estate agent. I clearly communicated that to my clients and those who accepted me as their realtor understand that. When Boomer wasn't around for the showings, they ask why he didn't come. On one occasion, my client sat at the back seat, fed my baby while I drive her to the next house. She gladly did it and she truly didn't mind it at all.
That incident gave me the permission to be a mother and a realtor at the same time, despite my imperfections. I accepted whom I am and I moved on since.
Mind you, many clients know about my baby and my mother hat because they are ardent readers of my blog long before they decided to call me. I know this may not make some people happy, but thus far, all of my clients don't mind my mother hat.
Daycare is my Sanity
I dont take this lightly. At 14-months old, I sent my son (and my nephew) go to a daycare Monday through Thursday from 9am - 2pm. I wrote about his first day at school. The experience turned out more horrifying for me than him. Now, I can laugh about that day.
I defined the time he is at school as prime real estate time for me. It is time I don't fool around. I am super-productive at that time because I pay good money. Naturally, my goal for that time is to get a 10-fold return or more.
So, there you have it. These are some strategies that keep me sane - whether or not I'm an effective mom. That's another story.
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I proudly serve and sell real estate in the northern suburb cities of the Dallas metroplex. If you are thinking about purchasing or selling your home in neighborhoods of Frisco, Plano, Dallas, McKinney, Allen, Little Elm, Prosper, Celina, Richardson, Dallas M-Streets, Dallas White Rock Lake area and other surrounding areas and more importantly, want to work with a local area expert, contact me at your earliest convenience.
I employ a systematic market approach in selling your home - an intentionally unique proposal that most real estate agents do not use. Find out how past clients are on their way to the closing table with this different proposition to home selling.
Contact:
Loreena Yeo
Realtor®/ Broker of 3:16 team REALTY
(214) 783-2210
loreena@loreenayeo.com
Copyright © 2009 by Loreena Yeo (3:16 team REALTY).
