Working from home as a transaction coordinator comes with a ton of perks. You are surrounded by the things that you love, plus all of your work responsibilities, plus pets, laundry, emails, a list of real estate agents to contact… wait a second! With so much on your plate, it’s probably time to start focusing on schedule management.
Schedule management is extremely important for transaction coordinators. Stick around to uncover the ins and outs of time organization in your business.
What is Schedule Management?
Effective schedule management is when you master the juggling of all your responsibilities each day. It takes practice and concentration to ensure that none of your tasks are slipping through the cracks.
Balance and boundaries are the keys to schedule management in any work-from-home position. As a transaction coordinator, there are a few specific tricks that you can keep in mind when taking control of the clock.
Why is Schedule Management So Important for Transaction Coordinators?
As a transaction coordinator, your role directly impacts the reputation of other professionals. You really can’t drop the ball on the real estate agents who are counting on you.
Working remotely comes with its share of distractions. You will need to compete with an array of other obligations daily! But you can do it by nixing the competition and bracketing your time appropriately for all of the things on your task list.
To make sure you’re successful (and that you keep your clients happy) you NEED to know how to manage your time and keep your schedule in check.
5 Tips for Schedule Management As A Transaction Coordinator
Even if you are a naturally unorganized person, schedule management is possible for you by following just a few simple tricks. Take a look at the best ways to manage your hectic schedule as a transaction coordinator.
Batch Your Email Work
If cell phones or pop-up alerts weren’t a thing, maybe it would be easier to ignore the relentless flow of work emails. Then again, your role as a transaction coordinator depends on timeliness and efficiency.
So, how do you take control of your daily emails?
Unless something comes through as “urgent”, you need to hold off on emails until a specific time of day. Failing to do so could mean never getting anything else done! Batching your emails and spending a dedicated hour responding will keep you focused on other things throughout the day.
Schedule Your Meetings Wisely
It may be tempting to accept every meeting invitation without question. But your time and attention is just as valuable as the real estate agents, buyers, and sellers that you work with. It is important that you speak up and schedule meetings at times that work best for you.
What’s more, you should take the time to strategically plan meetings so that they can be quick and to-the-point.
If your meeting matches any of these criteria, consider canceling them altogether:
- Discussing a one-off question
- Reiterating something already communicated via email
- Can be communicated via email
Odds are, the other meeting invitees will be relieved if you can communicate with them some other way.
Time Block Your Days
Wouldn’t life be much simpler if all emails were answered between 9:00 AM and 12:00 PM, all purchasing docs were prepared from 1:00 PM to 2:00 PM, and only the last portion of your day was for collecting buyer and seller information?
Luckily, you can arrange your day to look like this or whatever you want it to. That’s a perk of entrepreneurship!
Obviously, some urgent matters will pop up from time to time, but framing your day in concrete blocks is a valuable schedule management tactic. It will help steer you back to where you belong when the dust settles after a work emergency.
Do Your Most Important Work at Your Most Productive Times
This tip is necessary to maximize your schedule management. Many transaction coordinators have the most energy early on in the workday while others don’t hit their stride until after lunch. Be sure to identify your best working hours and use that information to your advantage when scheduling your day.
Are you a master at throwing together emails? Then save them for when you are most tired! Pro tip: you can always schedule emails to send the next morning if you’re working late at night.
Do you struggle with legal documents? Save that component for when you feel the most focused.
Again, the beauty of life as a transaction coordinator is that you have control over these small but meaningful details.
Protect Your Family Time
Do this at all costs. Your family is likely what inspires you to do well in your professional life and makes working from home all the more rewarding. Schedule management means as much for the people that you love as it does for the people that you work with.
No matter how your day as a transaction coordinator goes, practice flipping the switch to be present as a parent, sibling, spouse, or whoever you need to be in your personal life! Set a “stop” time for working and stick to it like glue.
Even the most scattered and stressed transaction coordinators will benefit from taking the time to focus on schedule management. Forcing yourself to step back and recalculate how and when you get work done will pay off in the long run.
