You might find it difficult to work productively every day, especially when you’re a Baltimore County landlord with tons of tasks that need to be completed.
It’s often tempting to get distracted by a time-waster like social media and let that distraction take over your day.
While it’s perfectly fine to take breaks from time to time, getting distracted too frequently can take a huge toll on your rental property business. After all, if you aren’t working to rent out your properties, you aren’t going to earn any money from them!
To avoid letting anything stand in the way of the higher profits you’ll likely notice when you improve your productivity, try these tips:
Productivity-Boosting Tips for Overworked Landlords
1. Plan your tasks ahead of time.
If you don’t know what you need to do on any given day, you’ll find it much more tempting to spend that day wasting time.
Don’t let that happen – plan out your week ahead of time instead, outlining the tasks you need to accomplish each day.
Not only will this put you in the mindset to work hard and mark tasks as complete – it will help you keep track of your productivity and what you have accomplished.
Tip: Having a hard time organizing your tasks and planning your time? Try a project management program like Basecamp to create a custom calendar and task list for your rental property business.
2. Avoid too much multitasking.
As a busy Baltimore County landlord, you might find yourself multitasking often, but you should avoid doing so whenever possible.
Why?
Because studies have shown that multitasking can reduce your productivity by a whopping 40%. Plus, it often leads to more errors in your work, and some studies show that it can even hurt your brain.
So, next time you’re juggling tons of tasks, stop for a moment to prioritize – figure out which tasks require immediate attention and which ones can be handled later on. After that, you should be able to attend to one task at a time.
3. Organize your work space.
A disorganized landlord is an unproductive landlord, and your office clutter could be making you more stressed than you realize.
Chances are, cleaning it up won’t take up much of your time, and doing so could help improve your efficiency and profitability.
So, take a minute to sort through that dreaded stack of papers on the corner of your desk and eliminate any other messes in your workspace. You’ll thank yourself later.
4. Get enough sleep.
Nothing quite kills productivity like not getting enough sleep. If you can’t seem to relax your mind and rest at night, try these anti-insomnia techniques:
- Put your cell phone away. The blue light emitted from your phone can slow melatonin (the hormone that helps you sleep) production in your body, so it’s important to put your phone up when you’re trying to get some rest. If you need something to occupy your mind before you go to sleep, try reading a book.
- Avoid working from your bed. Your bedroom should be a place for sleeping, so avoid the temptation to catch up on your business tasks on your laptop at night. That way, your brain recognizes the bed as a place for rest – not work.
- Cut out caffeine after noon. If you need to drink coffee, make sure you do it in the morning. If you save it for later in the day, the caffeine could end up keeping you awake at night.
If you find yourself exhausted from a lack of sleep, try to work in a quick nap. Even 15 minutes of sleep can leave you feeling refreshed and ready to tackle the rest of your day!
5. Use the Pomodoro technique when you work.
Drowning in a stack of boring administrative tasks for your Baltimore County rental property business?
Try the Pomodoro Technique. It’s a popular way to manage time effectively – even for an overworked landlord who is forced to handle unappealing tasks.
All you have to do is break your time up differently by working in 25-minute increments that are each immediately followed by a 5-minute break. Each of these work periods is referred to as a “Pomodoro,” and you should spend them free of distraction, focusing solely on the task at hand.
After you’ve complete 4 “Pomodoros,” take a 20-minute break. And remember, you can always customize the time increments to meet your own needs. If 25 minutes isn’t enough for you to accomplish something, work for longer time periods. Just make sure you’re taking frequent breaks to give your brain time to recover.
Tip: If you struggle to keep track of your work intervals while using this technique, download a Pomodoro timer app.
6. Take a break.
No, you shouldn’t take a break every time you feel unproductive. But you should take a break if you have felt overworked for some time and your exhaustion is what is keeping you from working efficiently.
While this seems counterintuitive, it works because it gives your body and mind some time to re-charge.
If you can, take a vacation day or two. If that isn’t a possibility, simply head outside to take a walk or consider taking a break at a local Baltimore County park – you’d be surprised how much you can benefit from a temporary change of scenery! Here are a few places you can try:
- Catonsville Community Park
- Bear Creek Park in Dundalk
- Benjamin Banneker Historical Park and Museum
This seemingly small break can make a huge difference in how you feel about your day, equipping you with the mindset you need to work productively when you head back to the office.
7. Turn on some background noise.
Studies have shown that ambient noise, as long as it is not excessive, can improve creativity. It can often help with focus and productivity too. So, if you’re having trouble working efficiently throughout your day, try adding in some background noise.
Here are a few apps you can use to do that:
- Coffitivity – This app simulates the sounds you’d hear in a busy coffee shop or a bustling college campus food court.
- Spotify – When using this free music app, search for rainforest sounds, thunderstorm sounds, or ambient music.
- Ambiance – With this app, you can choose from thousands of free sounds and create your own personal atmosphere. While it isn’t free (it’s $2.99 in the Apple app store), it offers lots of features that similar apps don’t.
In Conclusion
Hopefully, this post has given you some actionable advice for improving your productivity, and you can now face the work week with confidence.
But what if you’re handling too many tasks or tasks that you simply don’t want to take care of?
A trustworthy Maryland property management company (like Bay Management Group) can help your Baltimore County rental property business by taking those responsibilities off your hands.
We take care of all kinds of tasks, including maintenance, rent collection, and tenant screening. When you let us handle those tasks, you can minimize work-related stress and spend more time doing things you enjoy!
If you’re interested in learning more, contact us today.
