apps – The Property Writers

Okay, hands up if you remember the song ‘Everybody’s Free To Wear Sunscreen’.

Yes? No?

If you need a little reminder, or distraction, see the original music video below.

(Copyright lies with Baz Luhrmann and associated creators)

Poignant and direct, the lyrics most likely have something in there for everyone. It is a wonderfully engaging stream of advice, including being advised to floss, getting plenty of calcium, as well as remembering compliments that you receive.

One such piece of advice is

“Do one thing every day that scares you”.

This piece of wisdom was originally said by Eleanor Roosevelt.

Easier said than done, right?

But what is interesting about this, is that it can be a little more daunting applying this principle to your business and business practices.

Why is this? It’s not a rhetorical question, I really don’t know why this is!

Perhaps it is because our business or workplace and how we operate within our work can have a knock-on affect to plenty of others. Whether they are colleagues, clients or even future or prospective clients, drastic or ‘scary’ changes can cause ripples.

Whereas, making personal decisions, such as a change in hair colour or a choice in holiday destination, are less likely to offend, annoy, or upheave others.

Here at The Property Writers, we’ve had plenty of decisions to make along the way since our fruition and already in the span of a year have made changes to the way we work. Most of these changes have been overwhelmingly positive.

But have we really challenged ourselves to the extreme, or even scared ourselves? Nope, not really! The end of financial year is fast approaching and amid our meetings and talks on financials and processes and future goals, I’m going to be throwing into the mix the notion of mixing it up a bit and scaring ourselves.

This could be as simple as picking up the phone and phoning some targeted clients who have been on our wish list (so far, from afar!).

OR, utilising a social media app that has admittedly confounded us a bit until now *cough, cough*, Snapchat!

But we are going to mix it up a bit around here and scare ourselves.

After all, nothing ventured is nothing gained, right?

I have skydived before. Yes, I have jumped out of a plane, after only agreeing to do so around 4 or 5 hours beforehand. And I remember being strangely calm while doing so.

But I was reduced to a shivering, terrified mess recently in Bali. I was climbing the set of stairs, to go on a water-slide that most 12 years around me weren’t thinking twice about. This water-slide absolutely terrified me. I did go on it, after my initial almost tamper-tantrum stating that I wasn’t going to! But the prospect of jumping out of a plane from 15,000 feet was significantly less scary, for me anyway.

We all have have our ‘things’ and all have our levels of what we as individuals are comfortable with. We’re a diverse group, us human beings.

How about you? What are some things you can do within your business to scare yourselves?

Is it joining Snapchat like us? (Eek, we are so terrified!) Let us know on Instagram or Facebook!

Got your phone? You won't need much else! — Got your phone? You won’t need much else!

If you work in the real estate industry, whether you’re an agent, property manager, or a developer, chances are you spend a lot of time in your car.

I’ve come up with a few hacks to make the most of your mobility and revel in your chance to work out of a mobile office.

All it takes is foresight, a little bit of technology and an awareness of how to best manage your time whilst not in your office.

Set aside time each morning planning your route and take note of places/areas in which you will likely stop. Having a plan for your day will empower you – of course things certainly don’t always go to plan, particularly in this industry! But it’s better to start the day with a framework, than none at all, and adapt accordingly.

Put together your work-on-the-go-kit. Picture your desk – what is on it that you use frequently that you may need to replicate in your car? It’s pretty straightforward, but if you keep a separate car charger for your phone/tablet, notebook, pens, diary and glasses if you require them together, in a bag or storage tub in your car, you’ll thank yourself for it. It means not having to grab extra bits and pieces before leaving your office. Knowing that you’ll have what you need with you if you have to unexpectedly stay out longer than planned will provide you with peace of mind. It sounds so simple, but the amount of times we’ve clients have said their phone battery had betrayed them, or they didn’t have their reading glasses has made us all the more aware of the importance of these basic things. (I’ve been guilty of forgetting so many of these things too.)
Get your kit sorted!

Cloud storage is your friend. It’s inevitable that being on the go so much, you’ll be creating or receiving documents. You will want these saved securely without you having to switch devices often, or wait until you return to your office. If they are streamlined across your devices, you ultimately save time.

As well as utilising handy cloud storage, there are plenty of apps that I use that I swear by for using while working on the run. That’s a whole other post in itself, but ones I favour are Evernote for word processing/note taking, Dropbox for saving and sending files and utilising Voice Memo (or the Android equivalent) for dictating.

Speaking of back-up – portable contents insurance – ensure that you have it! If you do have an unfortunate incident with one of your devices or contents, if it’s covered by your insurance policy, you’ll be glad to not have hassles when making a claim.
Before you hit the pavement make sure your belongings are secure and that you have insurance.

Coffee and snack stops. These are vital, especially if you are fuelled by caffeine, as I admittedly am. (What writer isn’t, really?) Packing your own food can often be healthier and more cost effective, but isn’t always a daily reality. For when you are making a stop, if you don’t mind repetition, go for somewhere with a loyalty scheme for your beverages, so you’re at last getting a free drink after several. If you like mixing it up, find somewhere different each time and aim to support small or local businesses to the area that you’re stopping in. And do your part for reducing your carbon footprint and aim to take in your own travel mug to fill up, if stopping for coffee is a regular thing. You can get some AMAZING ones online, or even your local stationary supplies store.
Image source: www.keepcup.com

Embrace podcasts! They are a great way to stay engaged and informed in your industry and stay mellow in traffic. As long as you feel like you can still concentrate while driving, podcasts are a seriously fabulous way to make the most of time spent driving. You could always use the time to indulge in podcasts aligned your own personal interests or hobbies now and then to mix up your day and drive.

Find an inspiring natural landscape, or backdrop, to stop and work at. Make the most of your position of not being fixed in the same working space day in, day out. Seek inspiration in the great outdoors. Fresh air and natural splendour do wonders for soul and can really help boost creativity. I love so many quotes from John Muir. A particular favourite, to finish on:

I only went out for a walk and finally concluded to stay out till sundown, for going out, I found, was really going in. – John Muir

Find a natural setting to stop at and enjoy while you work.

What are your tips for working while out and about? And please do let us know of any podcasts we should be subscribing to. Visit us on Instagram and Facebook to give us your own tips and tricks.

Do one thing every day that scares you

How to work on the go