How to Stop Procrastinating as a Real Estate Agent: That One Thing You Keep Avoiding
Let me ask you something.
What's the one thing in your business you know you should be doing right now, and you're not doing it?
Maybe it's a call. A follow-up. Asking for the appointment. Talking to a seller about a price reduction. I had one of those myself the day I recorded this episode.
Years ago, one of my coaches gave me a piece of advice that stuck. I still use it with the agents I coach. Gosh, I use it on myself.
Do what you don't want to do when you don't want to do it at the highest level.
Here's what I've learned. Most of the things that move our business forward aren't complicated. They're just really easy not to do.
That's what this week's podcast episode is about.
[EMBED: Episode 3 player]
Knowing What to Do Isn't the Same as Doing It
You can have leads. You can have systems, the greatest CRM on earth, scripts, a coach, AI, and a beautifully time-blocked calendar.
At some point, you still have to do the work.
That's the part nobody can do for you.
Watch Out for Productive Procrastination
Nobody says, "I've been putting off scrolling Instagram for three weeks."
We don't procrastinate on the easy stuff. We procrastinate on the things that make us uncomfortable. Calling someone who hasn't returned our last three calls. Calling an expired listing. Calling our database when we haven't talked to them in years. Having a pricing conversation with a seller. Calling a client with bad news.
Those things carry emotional weight.
So we find something productive to do instead. And real estate gives us an unlimited supply of productive-looking things.
You clean up your CRM. Work on your website. Create a social media post. Watch a training video. Tweak your email signature. Maybe ask ChatGPT to rewrite something 14 different ways.
At the end of the day you think, man, was I busy.
You were.
But did you do the one thing you knew you needed to do?
Procrastination Is Fear Wearing Business Clothes
Sometimes we're not avoiding something because we're lazy. We're avoiding it because there's a chance of rejection attached to it.
What if they say no? What if the expired seller hangs up on me? What if I tell my seller the price needs to come down and they get upset with me?
So we tell ourselves, "I'll do it later." And later feels safer.
Instead of saying, "I need more motivation," ask yourself: What am I actually afraid of here? Rejection? Feeling uncomfortable? Not knowing what to say? Looking foolish?
Once you name it, the thing you're avoiding often gets a lot smaller.
A Coaching Story: Just Make the Calls
I was working with an agent who knew exactly what she needed to do. She had people in her database to call. She knew it.
But week after week, there was always something else. Something in the CRM. Marketing to finish. Getting organized. Getting ready to be ready. All of it legitimate, and that's what makes it so easy to justify.
So on one of our coaching calls, I asked her a simple question: "What's the one thing you're avoiding?"
She knew immediately. The calls.
She knew who to call. She had the numbers. She knew what to say. She just didn't want to make the calls.
So instead of giving her another strategy or another script, we kept it simple. Make the calls. Don't worry about whether somebody answers, whether you get an appointment, or whether you get a listing. You don't completely control those.
The win for the day was: Did you make the calls you said you were going to make?
Once she started, it wasn't nearly as bad as she'd built it up in her head. Some people didn't answer. Some weren't interested. Some weren't ready.
But more importantly, she got moving again.
Get Off the Real Estate Roller Coaster
There's another version of this, and it shows up with agents who are already doing business.
You get busy. Buyers, listings, a few deals in escrow. Inspections, appraisals, showings, paperwork.
And the first thing that gets pushed aside? The very activity that got you the business in the first place.
Then the deals close. Nothing's in escrow. The pipeline is empty. So we panic, start prospecting again, get busy again, and stop again.
The transactions you're closing today are largely the result of what you did 30, 60, maybe 90 days ago. What you do, or don't do, today shapes your pipeline 30, 60, or 90 days from now.
One way I coach agents off the roller coaster is what I call daily minimum standards. They're the activities that don't go to zero.
Maybe your normal goal is 50 contacts. On a crazy day you can't do 50. Fine. But does 50 become zero? That's where the trouble starts.
Your minimum might be five or 10 calls, five meaningful follow-ups, or 30 focused minutes of lead gen. The exact number isn't the lesson. The standard is.
You need a target and you need a floor. Protect the floor, and you stop shutting off the faucet every time the bucket gets full.
The goal isn't simply to get busy. The goal is to stay in business.
Control the Activity, Not the Result
You can make the call. You can't make somebody answer.
You can hold the open house. You can't force 30 people through the front door.
If your definition of a good day is "Did I get a listing today?", you're going to have a lot of disappointing days.
Try a different measurement: Did I do today what I said I was going to do?
Do It at the Highest Level
Sometimes we technically do the thing, but we do it halfway. Five calls while answering emails. An open house without inviting the neighbors. A text because we're afraid to call.
If you're going to do it, do it well.
Agents love scripts, right? Until you tell them to practice. "But Ken, I don't want to sound scripted." Neither do I. That's exactly why you practice. Say it 20 times. Role-play it. Eventually it sounds like you.
Action creates competence. Competence creates confidence. Don't wait around for confidence to show up first.
Your challenge: Ask yourself, "What's the one thing I'm avoiding, or letting go to zero, that I know moves my business forward?" Write it down and put it on your calendar. Not "sometime this week." Tuesday at nine. Wednesday at two. Then go do it.
Ready to Stop Avoiding the Work That Grows Your Business?
At Agent Performance Coaching, I help real estate agents ditch the chaos, stay laser-focused, and streamline their business so they can unlock consistent growth.
Ready to take the next step?
Book a Free Strategy Call — Let's talk about where you are and what's getting in your way.
Listen to the Agent Performance Coaching Podcast — New episodes every Wednesday.
Prefer to reach out directly? Email me at [email protected].
Ken Gould | Agent Performance Coaching
