The most common wish I hear from my coaching clients and other real estate agents who are highly motivated and successful is a lament of not having enough time. But then we each have the same 24 hours that Bill Gates has or, for that matter, the top producers we know who sell much more than we do. Time is an equal opportunity employer and we each get 168 hours each week to use... or to squander.

Time is not as fixed and unyielding as we perceive it to be. Our expectations of how much or little we have often color our experience. The more you tell yourself and others, "I never have enough time," the more true that becomes for you and you begin to be running on one of those little treadmills like a hamster. The more you run on the adrenaline of too much to do, the sooner you will burn out, or at the very least, lack the enjoyment of your accomplishments. Here are some suggestions on how to put more time in your life and get more out of the time you spend:

Stop it!.

You are in charge of your schedule. You are free, at any moment to give yourself breathing room and a reserve of time, or not. By simply taking responsibility for the fact you are the one who has scheduled it to look this way gives you an enormous amount of power to change it.

Change your conversations about time. For the next week, tell yourself every time you start to feel overwhelmed, "There is plenty of time to do all I need to do." Arrive 15 minutes early for every appointment. Use that extra time to catch up on mail or calls or just relax and say to yourself, "I have an abundance of time to spend as I please."

Say "No." more often.

Say no to business that isn’t the highest and best use of your time. You know, showing property to those buyers who may not buy and even going to the other side of town where you aren’t really familiar with the areas. Refer those people out.

Say no to the listings that aren’t going to sell. Those people are high maintenance and stressful. Give them back their listings and let someone else deal with them. Or refer them to another agent.

Say no to meetings that aren’t valuable to you. Are you serving on a board or with a group that doesn’t really fit for you any more? Let go and move on.

Say no to people who suck your energy, whether it is personal friends or business. Upgrade your rolodex to include just the nice people.

Delegate Your Weaknesses

Stop struggling by doing things you aren’t good at. If details aren’t your thing, use a transaction co-ordinator or assistant who is good at the details. It doesn’t take the commitment of someone full time: you can outsource many parts of your job and you should be! Buy back those hours…..Sure you can put your own labels on your mailings, but doesn’t freeing up 2 hours of prospecting or networking time for a $15 or $20 investment make sense?

What is an hour of your time worth? You should not be doing anything that pays you less than that. Are you effective with your time or merely efficient. Are you doing everything perfectly, or discriminating about what the highest and best use of your time is at any given moment? Make a list right now of the parts of your job that you could give up and begin to creatively let go of at least one thing per week, until you have yourself a reserve of time to work with the high quality contacts.

Take Extraordinary Care of Yourself

This year, resolve to spoil and nurture yourself. Your clients will thank you. No one likes to work with a stressed out person. When you take great care of yourself, you come to work more energized and are calmer when the proverbial stuff hits the fan! You move through the crises without being drained of energy, because you have some to spare.

It’s much like the airplane announcement that tells you, in case of crisis, to put your oxygen mask on first, and then put one on the scared child. Your clients need you to be the calm in the center of the storm and you don’t have that to give if you are running yourself ragged.

So, create more time by giving yourself days off, massages, and time to take a walk or reflect each day. Make a list of 100 things to do that bring you joy and set about making sure very day includes them. You deserve to be very well taken care of. If you feel a little selfish and it feels bad - you are definitely on the right track! Plan something for this week that is indulgent and will make you feel very good. Then notice if you don’t like everybody else around you just a little more.

Remember That Time Waits for No One

It is your time and it is the currency of your life. Say no to reclaim time, delegate to be doing only the things that are your brilliance and take such good care of yourself that you begin to really feel in control and happy to give to others. You can spend your time frantically in adrenalized actions or decide 1999 is the year to enjoy the journey. After all, it’s not about the destination, really, it’s only a bunch of todays strung together.

Published: January 19, 1999

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Joeann Fossland ePRO, GRI, MCC, PMN, SRS is a dynamic, international speaker and business coach. She personally coaches a small number of extraordinary agents who want to leverage their production results and have a life they love! She was recognized as one of the 25 Most Influential Women in Real Estate in 2008 by Stephan Swanapoel. Subscribe to her free Tuesday Tips, attend Fossland's Forums, free monthly tele-seminars, and find out about classes delivered by email and personal coaching by visiting Joeann.com or email her at . You can also connect at Facebook and Twitter.