If you find yourself answering phone calls at 11 p.m. and text messages at 5 a.m. or you can’t remember the last time you saw your son play basketball, you may have succumbed to a common affliction among real estate agents: excessive availability.

While most Realtors® pride themselves on their responsiveness to customers and to other real estate professionals, the “Always on Call” lifestyle can quickly lead to agent burnout.

“Real estate agents are our own worst enemy about accessibility,” says Carol Temple, a Realtor® with Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage in Arlington.

As an industry, real estate has room for improvement, says Anslie Stokes Milligan, a Realtor® with McEnearney Associates in Washington, D.C.

“We don’t expect any other professional to be 100 percent on call 365 days a year,” Milligan says.

At the same time, she recognizes that there are times when it’s essential to go full throttle on work, especially during the peak spring and fall markets.

“If you nurture your business every day and work on your business as well as in your business, it’s easier to manage it year-round,” says Milligan.

Real estate agents face an internal conflict, says Michelle Carlstrom, founder and principal consultant with Build a Better Culture in Baltimore: they love what they do and find meaning out of helping their clients, but can easily end up overloaded.

“Realtors®, and people in other professions, too, are judged by how quickly they get back to someone,” says Carlstrom. “But it’s a biased judgment. People think it’s okay to interrupt their agent while she’s at her kid’s soccer game, but it’s not okay for their agent to interrupt them while they’re in a meeting.”

Breaking that cycle of instant responsiveness takes discipline and a reevaluation of how you want to spend your time, says Carlstrom.

MANAGING YOUR SCHEDULE IS ESSENTIAL

Successful Realtors® manage their clients and their time.

“If you don’t have a schedule to follow, you’re what I call a ‘pop-tart’ Realtor® who just responds to everything as it pops up,” says Tim Harris, a Las Vegas-based real estate coach.

Harris believes a morning routine is essential to give you a sense of calm and the confidence that you can control your day.

“I recommend a media-free morning, which means no email, no texts, no voice mail, no social media and no traditional media,” says Harris. “You need to start your day with exercise, gratitude for your family and some spiritual activity such as meditating or prayer.”

While not every real estate agent can skip checking messages in the morning, most do establish a schedule that encompasses their personal and business activities.

“I make every personal appointment for the year in January for things like the doctor, the dentist and haircuts,” says Temple.

Temple also schedules two or three vacations and a few long weekends, making reservations in advance so she commits to them.

“I never miss a settlement, I just suggest another day so I don’t have to cancel reservations or appointments,” says Temple.

Milligan says the goal for her team is to have specific days off each week, although it sometimes is necessary to respond to issues on those days.

“I try to handle day-to-day things during business hours so I can be home with my kids,” says Milligan. “Everyone should decide when their day ends. I stop work at 5:30 and then usually do one last look at messages at 7 or 8 in case I need to respond to something.”

Team members who work with Phyllis Patterson, a Realtor® with TTR Sotheby’s International Realty in Alexandria, don’t have regularly designated days off, but they do schedule time off on an as-needed basis. Adding personal appointments to your calendar helps you honor those commitments, too.

“It’s perfectly acceptable to tell a client you have another appointment, even if that appointment is volunteering at your child’s school,” says Milligan. “At the same time, I know I have our transaction manager who will respond to time sensitive requests when I’m busy.”

Setting expectations with clients is an important part of maintaining control over your schedule, says Brittany Patterson, a Realtor® with TTR Sotheby’s International Realty in Alexandria.

“I set boundaries and explain to people that I will ignore messages that aren’t urgent between 10 p.m. and 8 a.m.,” she says.

Temple gets up at 5 a.m. and ends her day early.

“I tell my clients, ‘I promise not to call you at 5 a.m. if you promise not to call me after 7 p.m.,” Temple says.

Carlstrom recommends scheduling a ‘catch-up day’ about once each month to recover from your busy schedule and to take care of emails or other items that have started to accumulate.

Some agents specify a time each day when they’ll respond to all messages.

FOCUS ON ACTIVITIES THAT MATTER

In your work life and your personal life, figuring out what you must do and what you can let go is an important part of controlling your schedule and your time.

“Use the technology and tools available to reduce your involvement with things where you’re really not needed,” suggests Milligan. “For instance, you can put the Showing Time app on your seller’s phone and let them respond to requests. You can put disclosures right in the MLS so you free up the time it takes to send them individually to people.”

Many agents get involved in community activities, which can be time-consuming but also energizing if it’s a cause you care about.

“We like to be engaged in the charities we support, so we have what we call a ‘get our nails dirty’ attitude,” says Phyllis Patterson.

Saying yes to activities you enjoy can be easier when you’re not tied down with an overly demanding client.

“I’ve developed a sixth sense about people over time and know right away if we’ll work well together or not,” says Temple. “I interview buyers and sellers just like they interview me because I know if I’m uneasy about them it will only get worse. It’s okay to turn down clients.”

When you’re overloaded, says Carlstrom, it’s typical for your own priorities to be the first to go, which only adds to your stress.

“It may sound counterintuitive, but instead of trying to turn off your activities, you should actually add something new that has nothing to do with your current social circle,” says Carlstrom. “Volunteer at a new activity or play a new sport, anything that adds a new line to a social life that isn’t work-related.”

TEAM APPROACH OR GO-IT-ALONE

While some agents insist that being part of a team is the only way to achieve a strong real estate career and maintain a personal life, not everyone agrees.

“I’ve never been part of a team because you either manage people or you’re being managed, and I don’t want to do either of those things,” says Temple. “I plug everything into my calendar and work around that.”

Milligan says that her team, which includes three licensed agents as well as support staff, allows everyone to take time off without any lapse in customer service.

“If we’re putting ourselves out there as an industry that’s always available, we need to communicate to agents how to do this,” says Milligan. “If you’re not on a team, you at least have to partner with another agent so you can cover for each other and respond to emails, texts and calls.”

Internal communication with the team and access to a shared calendar as well as a transaction management system keeps Milligan’s team serving clients with a high level of professionalism.

“You have to be part of a team to pinch hit for each other and to fully back each other up so you can take vacations,” says Phyllis Patterson. “While I’m not working 24/7, the team is. I don’t see any other way to handle a large volume of transactions.”

PHYSICAL STRENGTH IS PART OF SUCCESS

Scheduling time for exercise, stress reduction and sleep may seem burdensome when you’re already busy, but these essential elements can keep you in good health.

“It’s hard to stay focused on your business if you’re not physically taking care of yourself,” says Harris.

 Milligan wakes up at the same time every day, exercises and tries to avoid having an erratic schedule.

Shutting down at night and making room in her schedule for sleep and exercise are important to Brittany Patterson, too, who also says it’s important to maintain a healthy social life. Her mother, Phyllis Patterson, fits in a fast 20-minute walk and meditates 10 minutes per day with the help of an app.

Investing time in important relationships is part of staying healthy, too, says Carlstrom.

“Try to manage your technology and be really present with people,” says Carlstrom. “And don’t forget to schedule fun and practice gratitude.”

CHANGING THE REAL ESTATE CULTURE

While being responsive to clients and colleagues is a matter of pride for most agents, many also think Realtors® could simplify their work life.

“As an industry we should establish a better standard of doing more during the workday,” says Milligan. “I try never to work at 9 p.m., because no one does their best at that time of day.”

For example, she points to agents who say they will present offers to their clients at 6 p.m., which means negotiations will take place that night. She says agents should ask their clients to be available at noon to present offers so negotiations can be handled during business hours.

“I’d like to see the purchase contract change, since it always sets deadlines at 9 p.m.,” says Phyllis Patterson. “Changing it to 5 or 6 p.m. would mean fewer late nights for agents.”

Establish your priorities and your schedule to figure out how to mesh business and personal needs. Setting and communicating your expectations can go a long way toward avoiding burnout and allowing you to work full-steam ahead when necessary.