If you’ve been in the business for any length of time, I’m almost positive that you’ve probably run into overwhelm. You are human and you only have 24 hours in a day! There is only so much you can get done. This time crunch can add a lot of stress and make things difficult to get done what you need to. You may have a ton of great ideas you want to put into place but not sure how. You can get much better at this when you learn to implement the 4D’s into your business.
And if you’re anything like me, you struggle with perfectionism from time to time. This can make it even more difficult to get things done because you don’t want to complete tasks that aren’t perfect. So you either don’t start, or you keep working on them and never get them out into the world.
Once I learned about the 4D’s, it really helped me learn to prioritize what I needed to do. And more importantly, what I didn’t need to do. My mind was able to refocus on the important things and accept the things that weren’t.
So you may be wondering what the 4D’s all about?
It stands for Do, Dump, Defer and Delegate.
When you are growing your farm, these 4D’s will be a life saver for you and can help you learn to focus on what really matters so you are getting the most out of your time and are able to build the best geographic farm!
So let’s break them down and dive right in.
Do
This one is generally the easiest for people to grasp. When it comes to your tasks, there are certain ones that only you can do and they need to be done now. These are your top priority tasks that must be done and need to be done now. The trick is to learn which of your tasks these really are. Many of us think that everything belongs in the DO category and that is where most mistakes are made.
Agents get self-validation by feeling busy. They tell themselves that they are doing good because they are doing something. But something doesn’t mean you are doing the right things.
We have to focus on the tasks that are a must, and must be done now. Designing a new logo, working on a website page, picking up supplies etc, while they all may be needed, probably don’t HAVE to be done right NOW.
The DO tasks are things like lead gen, lead follow up, going on appointments, showing homes, working on the important parts of your business that truly no one else can do. The trick is you need to learn which are priority and which aren’t to ensure you get the best use of your time.
Lets move onto the next of the 4Ds.
Dump
For some agents, this is an easy one of the 4D’s to accept. It’s the stuff that really doesn’t need to get done. It’s the things we can forget about that aren’t going to move our business forward. It some cases, these tasks actually can move our business backwards if we spend too much time on them.
However, like we mentioned earlier, this can be hard for many agents as they like to stay busy by being busy. Many of the tasks agents do in their farm are not actually beneficial and do not advance their goals, but merely keep them feeling active. It’s imperative that you learn what tasks you must get rid of ASAP.
The sooner you can dump the tasks that don’t matter, the sooner your farm will flourish. Think of it like pruning a plant. You have to cut back the parts that hinder the plant from growing. You must do the same in your business.
Defer
Sometimes there are tasks in your farm that need to be done but don’t need to be done RIGHT NOW. This is when you must learn to defer some of those jobs. It’s not that they aren’t important, it’s just that they aren’t important RIGHT NOW.
These can be things like we mentioned earlier. Things like working on your website, your branding, marketing pieces are things that may need to get done, but may not be top priority with your time. (Especially if you don’t have a consistent flow of business from your farm yet!)
The sooner you can learn what needs to be done now and what you can defer, the sooner you will be able to get more intentional with your time and fill your pipeline with business.
Delegate
Of all the 4D’s, I find that this is usually the hardest for most agents.
I know, I know…
You are great at what you do and no one can do it like you can! The trouble with this mindset is that you end up limiting how much you actually get done and you end up spending time on things that aren’t making you the most amount of money. And we don’t want that in our farm! We want to maximize our time and our return.
Sure, you can design a logo. And I’m sure you could design the perfect business card or for sale sign. The trouble is someone else can do it faster and probably better than you can. And not to mention, most can do it cheaper than you. That is, if you spend your time on the highest dollar producing activities. Why spend 2 hours designing a logo when you can hire someone for $50 to do it so that you can focus on the $100/hour jobs.
If it took you 2 hours to design it, that’s $200 of your time. Even if the designer took twice as long as you did and you ended up spending $100 on the logo, you are still $100 ahead. And not to mention, it’s off your plate, and hopefully, done better than you can. Delegating the right work can free your mind to not worry about the small minutia that takes up so much of our energy and allows us to be much more focused and effective.
It’s true, learning what to delegate can be tricky, but it can be one of the most freeing things you can do and one of the best ways to reach success much quicker in your farm. So don’t be stuck in perfectionism and learn to let go. Your mind and your wallet will thank you.
Conclusion
If you are struggling to get ahead in your farm, you may need to go back and reevaluate your time and tasks. Sometimes it takes taking a step back and looking at the 4D’s and really being honest with yourself about what you should actually be doing, which things you can dump, which things you can defer to later and really learn which things can be delegated.
The most successful agents know which of their tasks fall into these categories. They have been able to free up more time and make more money. And ultimately, that is what you want, right?
So what are you doing right now that could fall under the other 3 of the 4D’s?
Happy Farming!
Ryan Smith – Founder/Creator
Launch Your Farm
Be sure to check back on our blog and show to get awesome information about geographic farming!
Blog – http://www.LaunchYourFarm.com/Blog
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