Does the new year have you feeling a little anxious, knowing that everything is starting all over again? No matter what your production was last year, you are beginning again at zero and you may be feeling the need to produce and prove yourself all over again.

Now you're back at ground zero. Will this be your best year ever?

How do you measure “best”? In terms of total production? In terms of quality of life? In terms of contributing what’s needed to be on track for your long term goals? Are you on the treadmill like a little hamster going round and round or do you have a clear vision of the result that would make this your best year ever?

If these questions have exacerbated a knot in your stomach, it could be you need to take a little time to decide just how you are going to play the real estate game this year. Yes, that’s right. I said game.

You may be thinking, “No, this is life or death…this is my survival and, if I am not deadly serious about it, awful things could happen.” Well, that’s one possible way of going through the year and if that kind of thinking brings you joy and empowers you, use it. I find, however, with most of my coaching clients and the agents that I meet through the speaking I do, that lightening up a little enhances the daily grind and brings the possibility of more fun.

Coach Tim Gallawey, in his book, The Inner Game of Work, identifies fun as one of the most important components to increasing production. So let's keep fun in mind when making your game plan in 2001. Here are three great game-winning strategies to start with:

1. A game should be fun

That’s right….real estate is a game, not life and death!

How about next time you prospect, you make it your goal to get 15 “no’s”? Just keep calling until you get those 15 “no’s!” Do you think if you did that with no attachment to the outcome that you might actually get some yeses? Let go of whether the prospect's yes or no has anything to do with you, and make it more about them and where they are at that moment. What if it wasn’t about getting the “right” answer but simply about contacting 15 people who already know and appreciate you and just having an authentic, friendly conversation? Think of the people you most enjoy spending time with and spend more time with them, being a little bit obvious, but not being exploitive.

It’s the magnetic principle of attraction: When you have fun, you are attractive and people want to be around you and refer their friends and family to you. When you are working to do the numbers and are serious about needing business, you might turn people off.

2. A game is about playing, not just getting to the end

Sure the end score is important, but the playing during the game is where life is really happening. This year, if you focused on being the best that you could be in every single minute, in living life fully every single day, the end score would take care of itself. If you did this, you would experience the joy of simply being alive, having fun!

How can you get more joy out of what you are doing each day? Are there high maintenance clients that cause you grief and anxiety, but you are playing with them because you don’t think there is another game out there? Believe me, when you get out of that game, a game worth playing with have room to show up! The game is about enjoying the plays!

Another tip - what hobbies do you enjoy? What do you love to do, but haven’t spent time doing? This year, do more of these things, and connect with others while you are doing them. Business will increase and you will feel like you are playing rather than working!

3. A game is most fun when you're on a team

Certainly there are games that you can play alone and sometimes there is a great value in playing a game that is solely determined by your expertise alone. But the synergy that happens when there is a team to support you expands and the team is able to accomplish more than a sole player can alone.

In 2001, what new players could give you a better team? Associates, family, friends? New players may come from unexpected places.

Be creative in designing a list of 100 people who could be part of your team. The Coachu Team 100 list can give you some ideas. Start with the team you have and try increasing the members on your team by two each week. You'll soon have over 100 by the end of the year!

4. A game has play time, timeouts and breaks

Time is the biggest area of concern with the people I coach. In life, many of us are lacking a balance between our working hours and our play hours. Obviously, the first thing I am advocating is to have work be more fun.

Now, who is in control of the hours you spend in the game? Games only have certain periods of play and the play must be focused and 100% while on the field. They say the most productive day of the year for most of us is the day before vacation because of the focus and action we bring to that day. I recommend to my clients they have one or two peak performance days per week where 80% of their activities are the dollar productive ones. This is when they are on the playing field!

Studies have shown that your effectiveness decreases when working more than 40 hours a week. If you are working 60 hours at 60% effectiveness, you are really only doing the work that could have been accomplished in 36 hours. Wouldn’t you rather work 24 hours less?

5. A game has quarter and half-time breaks

Games have times for the team to take a break and perhaps rethink their strategies. During these breaks the players can rejuvenate and refocus.

Your vacations and time off are just as important to the playing of the game as the time on the field. When planning your 2001, I hope that vacations and family and personal time are planned with as much thoughtfulness as the strategies for when you are on the field. This is part of the game!

I also recommend at least one day a week of rejuvenation time—it will allow you to play at peak effectiveness when you are back on the field. It also gives you a better perspective of how you are playing and gives you time to adjust your strategies, instead of just trying to run faster and faster on that hamster wheel.

So play 100% of the game time and plan for the timeouts and remember that breaks are part of the game.

Part II - More Real Estate Game-winning Strategies will run Monday on Agent News.