It’s summer, and I’m a little bored, and frankly a little depressed because I had surgery just two weeks ago. I have two accepted offers and no contracts, and frankly no desire to work at all. I could shepherd those two offers into contract and call that a month’s work if I’m not careful.

So I was casting about for something to do, and I remember something I heard once (OK, many times) at Inman Connect.

It was that as agents, we need to measure our business.

Now the people in my firm who are real estate naturals — those born salesmen who take an hour of downtime as a wonderful excuse to bleach their teeth — don’t need metrics. They love meeting people, and they meet lots of them and get lots of leads, and how often they get leads and what percentage they close doesn’t really matter, because they close enough. If they measure anything it’s income, and that’s fine.

But what about the rest of us, those of us who enjoy real estate careers, but still find them "work" and not "play"? It truly makes sense for us to be smart about our businesses, because then we can work a little less and play Scrabulous a little more.

So I took it upon myself as a June project to write down what I did all day.

I’ll report back at the end of June, but here at the beginning I just want to point out the measurement effect: I’m already working harder and smarter. A few months ago I went to a nutritionist, who asked me to write down everything I ate. Though I ain’t never giving up cookies, the embarrassment factor made me skip a chocolate bar or two.

***

What’s your opinion? Leave your comments below or send a letter to the editor. To contact the writer, click the byline at the top of the story.

Show Comments Hide Comments
Sign up for Inman’s Morning Headlines
What you need to know to start your day with all the latest industry developments
By submitting your email address, you agree to receive marketing emails from Inman.
Success!
Thank you for subscribing to Morning Headlines.
Back to top
Only 3 days left to register for Inman Connect Las Vegas before prices go up! Don't miss the premier event for real estate pros.Register Now ×
Limited Time Offer: Get 1 year of Inman Select for $199SUBSCRIBE×
Log in
If you created your account with Google or Facebook
Don't have an account?
Forgot your password?
No Problem

Simply enter the email address you used to create your account and click "Reset Password". You will receive additional instructions via email.

Forgot your username? If so please contact customer support at (510) 658-9252

Password Reset Confirmation

Password Reset Instructions have been sent to

Subscribe to The Weekender
Get the week's leading headlines delivered straight to your inbox.
Top headlines from around the real estate industry. Breaking news as it happens.
15 stories covering tech, special reports, video and opinion.
Unique features from hacker profiles to portal watch and video interviews.
Unique features from hacker profiles to portal watch and video interviews.
It looks like you’re already a Select Member!
To subscribe to exclusive newsletters, visit your email preferences in the account settings.
Up-to-the-minute news and interviews in your inbox, ticket discounts for Inman events and more
1-Step CheckoutPay with a credit card
By continuing, you agree to Inman’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

You will be charged . Your subscription will automatically renew for on . For more details on our payment terms and how to cancel, click here.

Interested in a group subscription?
Finish setting up your subscription
×