How to Beat Burnout in Property Management

The thing I’m most embarrassed about, in my Property Management career, is the fact that I’ve burnt out.

Twice.

Now, I know that I shouldn’t be embarrassed about it.

But I am sometimes.

I think that, because I’m in a training role now (after selling my rent roll), I expect people to look at me as the “perfect example” of how to start and grow a rent roll, and do it all perfectly.

But that’s not how it went down.

I’ve experienced burnout, in a big way.

On two different occasions.

The first time was when I was working in a big agency, running a team of 7…

And when I burnt out then, I actually left the industry altogether.

The second time I burnt out, it was in my own rent roll.

And that’s the one I’m most embarrassed about, to be honest.

I felt like, since it was my rent roll, and I was the boss, I shouldn’t have burnt out.

I “should” have controlled my business in a way that was manageable.

I “should” have managed my workload in a way that was sustainable.

But, about 2.5 years in, I hit a wall.

I could hardly drag myself out of bed each day.

I was relying on coffee to keep me going every afternoon.

I hardly ever saw my family.

I was a cranky, stressed out wife.

And I didn’t have a social life at all.

Then, I ended up at the doctor, being diagnosed with adrenal fatigue.

My doctor told me that, if I didn’t reduce my stress, and cut out caffeine, things were going to be worse.

Much worse.

So, after sitting in my doctor’s office, in tears, I came home to my husband and told him that I had (finally) accepted that things had to change.

This was a pivotal moment for me, in my business, and in my life.

And, on the “off chance” you’ve experienced that same thing…

If you’ve ever gone through burnout, or you think that you might be getting close to burnout…

I want to share 5 things that I did to modify my business, and overcome my burnout.

1. Turn off all notifications

I realised that one of the things that really stressed me out was all the notifications I was getting on my phone.

All the beeps and all the red pop-ups appearing on my phone stressed me out so much.

So, I turned them off.

Even now, the only notifications I get on my phone are:

• Phone calls – if you call me, my phone will ring.
• SMS – if you send me a regular text, I’ll hear a beep.
• Calendar events – I’m happy for my Google calendar to remind me about my appointments.

But I turned off ALL the other notifications from all the other apps on my phone.

No Facebook, no Instagram, not even Facebook Messenger notifications.

Let me tell you, I could feel my stress levels reduce one I did this.

And I still have all those notifications turned off.

2. I removed my emails from my phone at the end of the day

I like being able to access my emails on my phone.

Especially when I’m out and about doing inspections.

So, it’s useful to have my emails on my phone.

But I realised that I was checking my emails every morning, before getting out of bed.

This is a terrible way to start the day.  And it really increased my stress levels.

So, at the end of each day, I turned off my emails on my phone (in settings), so that, even if I went into the email app, I couldn’t see new emails.

This forced me to stop checking my emails at night (and on the weekends).

And then, the next morning, once I sat back down at my desk, I would turn my emails back on my phone.

This helped me be more present when I was with my family and friends “after hours”.

3. I deleted social media apps

One of the greatest things I ever did was delete Facebook from my phone.

Now, I realise that I teach using social media to grow your rent roll, so this might seem counter-intuitive, right?

Not at all.

I’m a big fan of social media.

I think it’s an awesome tool for growing your business, your brand and your rent roll.  In fact, if you want to learn more about using social media for growing your rent roll, join me in my upcoming Masterclass: 5 Ways To Grow Your Rent Roll.  I talk about social media (the free and the paid sides of social media) in this masterclass.

But social media is a marketing tool.

It’s a tool you should use in your business.

But sometimes it ends up using you!

I do still have the Facebook Business Suite app on my phone – it’s handy for scheduling posts.  But you can’t see the whole Facebook feed, so you won’t get sucked into the Facebook rabbit hole!

Oh, and remember, turn notifications OFF for this app too.

You can have it on your phone, but don’t let it interrupt you with notifications.

4. I stopped answering my phone

Not completely, but mostly.

When I first started my rent roll, I was the only person in the business.  So, of course, I was the person who answered the phone.

Every single call.

Which meant I was constantly being interrupted.

So, I outsourced my phone answering.

I got a local phone number, and a virtual receptionist, who answered the phone for me (and either transferred the call to me, if I was available, or take a message if I wasn’t).

Then, I took it a step further.

I stopped giving out my mobile number to people.

I used my local phone number on all my advertising, and any time I left a message for someone, I told them to return my call on the local phone number.

This reduced my interruptions throughout the day soooooooooo much.

And it reduced my stress levels soooooooooo much too.

Plus, it allowed me to focus for longer on my property management tasks, so I finished my work much faster.

5. I started exercising

One of the things that helped me recover from burnout was exercise.

Gentle exercise.

Not hardcore, sweating it out, lifting heavy weights, huffing and puffing…

Gentle walking.

Each morning, I went for a leisurely walk in nature.

This was probably the hardest thing for me to do, but the most important.

I struggled to get out of bed in the mornings when I was burnt out.

And I struggled to justify spending 20-30 minutes walking, when I could just start working earlier.

What I discovered, was this:

If I invested 20-30 minutes to take a walk in nature, I seemed to be more efficient in my work day.

I honestly don’t know how it works, but it really did make me more focused, and efficient at work.

 

Now, I want to be very honest about my struggle with burnout.

I think it’s something I’ll always have to be careful about.

And, I often notice that, when life and business gets busy, I “fall off the wagon” with these 5 things I mentioned – especially the exercise.

But each time I start to get stressed, and I can see I’m at risk of burnout, I come back to these 5 things, and they bring me back to balance again.

I hope that one of these 5 things help you, if you ever get close to burnout too.

 

Now, if you need some ideas and inspiration for growing your rent roll, be sure to register for my upcoming Masterclass: 5 Ways To Grow Your Rent Roll.

And if you haven’t read my last blog 3 Tips for Starting a Rent Roll from Scratch be sure to check that blog.