Planning your priorities

Make sure you take non-business aspects of your life into account, too.

by John Eckstrum   Whew! We made it through the end of 2000. Santa has come and gone; Florida has counted, recounted, recounted the recount, and the courts have sorted out who will lead our great nation; we’ve ushered in the "real" (for you sticklers out there) start of the new millennium. Now, the time is here to plan–and refine earlier plans we already made–for 2001.

TAR is wrapping up the preparations for the 2001 Winter Meeting in Austin. This is the gathering formerly known as the TAR Spring Meeting, previously called the TAR Mid-Winter Meeting. It’s all a function of when the meeting takes place, which this year is Feb. 16-20. TAR staff and volunteer leaders have put pens to Day Timers and styluses to handhelds to make sure everyone and everything will be ready to go, and I hope to see many of you there. If you’ve never been, this meeting is a fantastic way to get involved in your association, meet other Texas REALTORS®, and learn about the latest happenings in our industry.

The Winter Meeting is just the beginning of a whirlwind year. The legislative session has already started, the TAR Hill Visits are coming next month, we will conduct regional meetings in every part of the state, attend our annual convention with our friends from Louisiana, and look forward to plenty of other activities and events.

Although TAR has a substantial head start on the layout for 2001, I want to assure each and every one of you that if you don’t have your entire year planned, don’t worry–it’s OK. Take a deep breath. While you’re thinking about the months ahead, I’d like to share of few tips of my own.

Prioritizing is perhaps the most important part of any plan. And in my mind, everything can be broken down into the following three categories, in order of importance: 1) Family, 2) Business, and 3) Interests and hobbies.

It sometimes seems like business is the most important thing in our lives. There’s no shortage of "emergencies" at the office, and peoples’ lives and fortunes often turn on the decisions we help them with. Even so, remember to make time for your family. Attend birthdays and special events in your family members’ lives. That should take precedence over everything. These are times we never will be able to live again, so don’t miss them. As the saying goes, a person on his deathbed never wishes he had spent more time at the office.

Plan for the success of your business, and success will likely follow. Evaluate your insurance, licenses, and overhead from the prior year, and make a plan for 2001 that will accomplish your goals and still allow time for family, community, and hobbies.

Interests and hobbies are very important to your sanity and can give you energy to be the best you can be for your family and business. We all need to be energized and can use the opportunity for an attitude adjustment from time to time. For me, golf does the trick. Make time to enjoy whatever makes you happy.

Planning can be done anytime, but you should do it at an interval that allows you the opportunity to take inventory and assess your desires, needs, and purpose.

Remember, we only go around this life once, and if we do it right, once is enough. Happy 2001!

Photo by Dennis Fagan.

home   current issue    top 10    resources 

discussions   contact us   search

Buyers & sellers, visit www.texasrealestate.com.
REALTORS®, visit www.tar.org.