All of our lives, we’ve been told procrastination is a bad thing, something to avoid — even a sign of laziness. Yet, obviously, procrastination is human nature. Most of us don’t jump out of bed every morning saying, “I’m going to accomplish a bunch of stuff today that’s due three weeks from now!”
There are actually some darn good arguments on how procrastination can help you as an real estate agent. Here are three:
Pressure brings out creativity
Much like having writer’s block that goes away just before deadline time, when you’re under the gun to get something accomplished, the situation unlocks creativity that you didn’t seem to have just a day or a few hours before.
It’s only human nature to come up with an initial thought that seems lame or not quite brilliant to you at the time, but as the pressure of time running out comes up — you tweak or combine the idea to make it better.
Maybe you can get your client a little something extra in the negotiation if you think about it in a different way. When you’re working with clients, discuss all of their needs, but give yourself some time to think it all through instead of giving them your gut reaction right away.
Putting things off gives you more time to process
The reason your creativity might manifest itself at the last moment about some issue, a client need, negotiation or other item is actually because you’ve been thinking about it all along.
It’s been at the back of your mind, and your subconscious has been working on the issue.
When the deadline comes up, your procrastination actually helps your brain unlock new perspectives and solution for you. You think you are having an epiphany — but it was a long-term thought process.
It forces you to prioritize
When you have limited time to accomplish something, it’s very easy to clear away the clutter and side projects you might have been wasting time on.
It puts you 100 percent in the zone for whatever your client needs at the time and helps you laser focus on what needs to be done in the time allotted.
Just like an Olympic athlete, you are forced to perform and zoom in on exactly what is needed at that time, and your clients reap the benefits.
OK, so now that you’ve heard my three reasons for why procrastination can be beneficial, you can stop stressing when you find yourself putting a certain project or aspect of your job on hold. It might just be for the best.
Sam DeBianchi is Estate Agent and founder of DeBianchi Real Estate in Miami, as well as coach and founder of SamSpeaks Coaching. Follow @SamDeBianchi on Twitter and Instagram or on Facebook.