Floyd says, "The further away from the well you get, the harder it will be to save your life when you need the water."

In other words, stay close to home, and, "Remember what brung ya." Remember what caused your success and try not to lose touch with it.

18 years ago, when Floyd reinvented real estate training he required students to sign a Commitment Form up front. We still do, by the way, because it's always better to communicate expectations and ultimatums before you make a mutual decision.

One of the standards every student had to agree to abide by read, "I agree to take one full day off every week." That meant 24 hours, no real estate phone calls, no real estate communications, no real estate period. Take a break from real estate.

Looking at this requirement through the lens of the realities of working in the real estate business today, you have to ask if this is even possible, much less practical. We live in a 24 hour, on-demand, snooze and you lose world. We live in a multiple offer market. It's a no seasons, no clocks Las Vegas world.

And yet, for every student who was "too busy" to take a day off, there have been many more who realized how much more efficient and effective they became by taking a day off. For every student who was afraid of losing clients and prospects, there have been many more who installed systems so that clients and prospects were willing to wait for them. For every student who wouldn't take a day off, many more have found the day off habit opened the way to a full weekend off every month. And to vacations.

You come back to the business refreshed from a day off. You come back calmer, nicer, happier. You come back with a sense of control.

If you find yourself running like a hamster on the 24-7-365 wheel, do yourself a favor. Take out your SMART Week and plan a day off in advance. Block it out. Highlight in pink. Change your outgoing voice mail message to let everyone know when you will be returning calls. And just in case you think a real estate emergency might arise, find yourself a day off partner you trust to handle it, and you handle theirs on their day off.

By the way, you will also discover that there is no such thing as a real estate emergency. 

Ps. If you need a copy of the SMART Week template, comment below and we will send you one!

The Floyd Wickman Team blog by Mike Pallin