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Getting Back into Routines After a Hiatus

by mattwroughtonrealtor

Let’s get this out of the way now, Yes, I’m back from an unintended break from posting here.  I had big plans for other posts that fell through or I just lost the passion for what I was writing.  I had a great post breaking down one of the contracts required to make a Real Estate deal and as I neared the end of the post, I started to feel like the post was forced and I wouldn’t have even wanted to read it.  Maybe someday I’ll retry that idea and actually share it with you all.  I promise that I will get back to writing these for your, and my, enjoyment.  As always, before I get going, please comment with and questions or suggestions that I can help you address.  My job is to help you in any way that I can, I strive to be a full-service REALTOR® and so far, I believe that I have done just that.

My apologies if I am a little rusty in writing this, I will get back to the style that, well, makes more sense and flows better as I get back into the swing of things.  Not that you should tell the world that you are sorry for a step down in quality of service, or whatever you are getting back to, but you need to acknowledge it yourself so you can accept a lower level of output.  It is only natural that you will be a little rusty in what you are doing after a hiatus.  I know that this will not be as good of a post as my last ones, when I had been writing more often.  I like to think of it this way; if you had been going to the gym for a long time and then took some time off for some reason, you would not be able to lift as heavy of weights or run as long.  It takes time to get back into the swing of things and get back to where you believe you should be.  I tried to write other posts but only got through a single paragraph and then got distracted by something or just didn’t feel that it was going to be good enough to share with you.  I’m not talking about you, Mom.  I know you’d love it and think it was great.  I had built up certain standards that I was hoping to maintain.  I now know that since I took a much longer break than I had intended, I was never going to hit those standards right out of the gate.  This post is meant to share the struggle of getting back into a routine despite the internal struggles. 

Step 1:  You need to create a more realistic goal or standard that you want to meet.  With this post, I’m just going to keep writing and see how I like it in the end, and I’ll probably post it.  Look at that, I uploaded it despite the quality not being up to my standard.   Let’s get back to the gym example that was brought up earlier.  When I go through that situation, I go to the gym and always seem to try my old workouts, which kick my ass more than they ever did before.  I then adjust the weights and times to accommodate my level of fitness at the time (I felt really weak when I did this).  I then have obvious goals to reach, and then exceed.  You don’t need to reach for your original goals when you are getting started again, but you should aim to achieve where you were previously.  Get out of the Red in a way.  Great, I just remembered that I have been slacking on going to the gym too, I guess I’ll have to go today then to get back to that routine too.  I’m going to be sore tomorrow.

I think I’m going to take a break from writing this so I can eat lunch, I wonder if I’ll come back to writing afterwards, or this will just go into a folder on my computer never to be seen again.

Would you look at that, I actually started writing again, I think I am officially back in this routine.  Or do I need to wait until I write another post, and actually post it.  That is probably more accurate, but I’ll take this as a step in the right direction.

Step 2: Once you’ve set a realistic goal for where you are, when you get back into your routine, you need to make sure that you actually follow it so you can achieve your goal.  Don’t give up, keep pushing, and all those other motivational sayings that tell you to keep pushing.  You can’t make any progress towards your goals unless you keep working at it.  I am determined to get back to my writing level (and fitness level) so I will not let myself give up and stop working.

Step 3: When I have a goal in mind, I make sure that I track my progress towards that goal.  I have written out my workout plan for, I think, 7 weeks where I’ll track the times and weights that I used for each specific day.  I will adjust the future workout plans as time goes on.  I think the only way I can track my progress in writing this blog is just to do it and react to your comments.  In Real Estate, I have a lot of ways that I am tracking my progress.  Thank you, Microsoft Excel.  As you are tracking your progress towards your goal, you’ll be able to adjust your plan(s) to make better progress if you have that desire.  I know I have tried changing out many things for many of my goals.  That is another struggle, finding the best way to achieve your goals.  The other constant is that I keep working hard and keep pushing towards my goal.

Step 4: I guess Step 4 would just be ‘Rinse and Repeat’.  I hate to say that, but at the moment, I can’t think of anything that would be Step 4 better than that. 

I think I might be done here.  As of now, I am satisfied with this post, but I’m going to wait and re-read it later to see if I am still happy with it.  That is the biggest thing that I’m taking away from this exercise of getting back into the writing blog routine.  I’m going to take my time and make sure that I am happy with what I am going to put out there.  No need to rush it.  What do you think, how’d I do?  I vow to write better and about something more exciting than my struggle to get back into various routines that I hope I succeed in regaining control.  Have a great day and Let’s go see some houses.

Social Media Strategy

by mattwroughtonrealtor

As promised in a previous post, it is time to talk about Social Media.  This has been one of the easiest yet hardest aspects to develop into a habit.  I have no problem being on Facebook all the time, just looking through and killing time, but the challenge of adding creative and interesting content can become overwhelming.  Twitter is another platform that has been, and still is, a challenge for me to utilize.  The only reason I got onto Twitter in the first place was to get clarification of an article I was reading regarding tweets from Chad “Ochocinco” Johnson. Yes, that was a while ago.  I rarely had tweeted on my personal account since then.  I believe I have tweeted more on my business account in 4 months than I had on my personal one in many years.  That brings up another great point.  I find it very important to have separate accounts on all platforms for your business and your personal stuff.  That allows your thoughts and appearance to be professional where appropriate, though I do still put some personal interests on my business one to keep it from getting too dry.  Other platforms that I use are Instagram, which is a battle, for me; Pinterest, which I think is fun and an easy way to get your information out there.  I’ve been working to start posting on Google+ but that has been a challenge to get going.  I’ve made a point to post on my LinkedIn account a few times a week, because that is a platform that not many REALTORS® use, and finally this blog, which, at times, stresses me out.

Let’s start with Facebook.  This is the platform that I am to most comfortable using, as I have been since 2005, or so.  I did not have a business account then, since I was still in High School, but I had learned many of the ins and outs of the site, or so I thought.  Once I came to CB Premier Group, I learned a lot more regarding the use of Facebook to build a business.  I jumped on board and began to explore the business side of the site.  I’ve learned how to build advertisements, boost posts, set target audiences, and much more.  Learning what to post took a little while, but I think I am getting a better grip on both what I want to post and what I need to post to get traction from my followers and the general public.  This is especially important in case of ads and boosted posts.  Another thing that I found out on my own, I think, was that when you post an ad, or boost a post, you NEED to invite those who liked the post to follow your page.  That is the easiest way, I’ve found, to get new people to follow you.  A strategy that I use to avoid just posting Real Estate posts all the time, is to post a motivational quote that every morning, (OK, I try to every morning).  These can help to motivate me through the day and can cheer me up in the morning if I’m feeling down.  Sometimes I am in the office earlier than I want to be, or appear to be, so I schedule posts throughout the day at various times.  I wish I remembered the source, but I found somewhere that the best times to post on Facebook are around 9 AM, Noon, and 5 PM.  If you think about it, it makes complete sense; before work, lunchtime, and after work.

Now let’s look at Twitter.  As described earlier, consistency here has been more of a challenge for me.  I use the same strategy I use with Facebook by posting the same motivational quote on my Twitter feed.  Other than that, I try to post about what I am doing during the day. I don’t get too personal, but I try to seem transparent.  One of the themes I’ve been using a lot, is complaining about going to the gym and how sore I am from going to the gym.  Another way that I get Tweets is through Instagram.

Well, I guess now I need to talk about Instagram.  So far, I generally use Instagram to show off the houses that I am looking at whether with a client, just previewing them myself, or going to open houses.  Through Instagram, you can replicate your posts on other sites; I only go with Twitter and Facebook since I use those sites regularly.  Occasionally I post food that I’ve ordered or made to show what I am into.  I am working to post more content on Instagram, but it’s been tough for me to get going on that.  I forget to take pictures of what I’m doing a lot and think of it after the fact.

Now let’s talk about a fun social media platform that I use, Pinterest.  This is a super easy platform to post on.  Nearly every day, I go on the site and look around on topics that interest me, or that I think might interest people doing research on DIY projects or thinking about selling their house.  I have started to create my own pins, but I have not, yet, figured out the magic way to utilize those.  Once I do, I’ll write a blog post specifically about that.  This is a site that is still new to me, but I enjoy the time of searching through it.

This next platform is extremely new to me, and I really don’t know how to use it yet.  I am talking about Google+.  So far, I am still exploring the site and learning ways to utilize it.  If you have experience or insight, I am more than willing to learn the ways to use it best.  I don’t know if I’ve even posted on there yet, to be honest.  I better do that now.

The last platform that I will talk about is LinkedIn.  I will talk about my blog in a later post, and I don’t feel the need to share the website with you all, as you are already on it.  LinkedIn is an important website for, well, everyone.  If you are in business, you should have a LinkedIn profile.  It allows you to connect with colleagues and even search job listings.  One aspect that not many utilize is the fact that you can post on the site for the world to see.  I try to post a few times a week with articles that are relevant to the time, relevant to Real Estate, or just great articles that can help you through life.  Not many REALTORS® use this to their benefit.  As always, I try to stand out from the herd.

Well, now you know the strategies that I use on all my social media platforms.  I hope you all will follow each one of them.  I will continue to build on my social media skills and will probably write about what I learn some time down the road.  I hope you enjoyed this read as much as I enjoyed writing it.  Next week I’ll write about something more exciting.  I don’t know what it’ll be yet.  I hope you all have a great day, and week, and let’s go see some houses.