From Adrenaline Rush to Exhaustion: How to Avoid Burnout

By Elisha Lopez

We get caught up in the adrenaline rush going from one deal to the next, the high from a sale, texting clients, emailing negotiations, calling leads and then? Burnout. It’s not talked about enough in our industry. How can we stay balanced when real estate is our life?

When my husband and I founded Ocala Realty World, I had three kids: two in diapers and one in Pull-Ups. I was leading a large team as well as our school that serves students seeking licensure. I was barely eating and running on four hours of sleep each night.

My mom told me to slow down, but I was Superwoman: 33 years old and invincible. The market had just crashed and I was handling 100 foreclosure properties at any given time. Smalls signs of burnout started popping up. I’d get dizzy when I stood up. Then, I experienced panic attacks and was fainting. Doctors didn’t know what was wrong with me. They said I was pre-menopausal or pre-diabetic, but I knew intuitively that wasn’t it. One day, I was showing a few homes to a nurse who was relocating for work. Her new boss was a doctor that specialized in adrenal fatigue. She could tell something was wrong and asked about my symptoms. Immediately, she suggested I see the doctor she came to work for. My diagnosis? I was burning the candle at both ends. That’s when I started to incorporate health and wellness into my career.

I’d never been educated about health, but what I learned from that doctor was so simple: eat, choose whole foods, sleep and rest.

Eat to Perform
When I’m in the midst of responding to calls, helping agents and showing listings, the last thing I’m thinking about is eating. Maybe I’d grab a bag of chips and a soda at the gas station between appointments, but it wasn’t a priority; my clients were. My doctor had me pay attention to how I felt after eating certain foods or if I skipped meals. If I didn’t eat, I noticed brain fog kicking in. My insulin was dropping because I wasn’t fueling my body to perform basic functions. I created an eating schedule for myself, deciding when to eat meals and snacks. I blocked this time on my calendar and to stick to it, I’d set alarms on my phone to remind me it was time to eat.

I noticed that gluten and dairy made me tired and bloated. They were creating inflammation and high histamine production which caused crashes throughout my day. I got rid of them completely and have cut out processed foods. I’m not recommending this for everyone, but it is a good idea to pay attention to how your body reacts to certain foods.

I started preparing meals at home. If I didn’t, I’d end up kicking myself because I’d be in a rush and grab something that wasn’t healthy fuel for my body. I would never meet with a seller without preparing a list of homes to show them or CMAs (comparative market analysis). Why would I expect to eat well if I don’t prepare the best food for myself and set aside the time to eat it?

Since I learned to prioritize and eat the foods that go with my body, I’ve been able to perform at a much higher level.

Sleep
Going to sleep is hard when I still have to plan various trainings for my agents or make several calls to potential clients the next day. I’ve learned that it’s better to go to bed and wake up early than to cram it in at night. I’ve learned to tune into my circadian rhythm, my body’s natural sleep cycle, and follow the setting and rising of the sun. It puts me out of whack if I don’t.

We strive to do it all, but to be successful at it, we need time to recover from a busy day. As agents, we get to create our own schedules. We can build in time to sleep, rest, breathe and eat. If I wouldn’t have been open-minded to taking care of myself, learning how to fix all the things I was doing to cause burnout, I wouldn’t be able to grow my business, agents or take care of my family.

Our Clients Will Notice
If we are tired, stressed and distracted, our clients will notice. I’m truly grateful the nurse I mentioned earlier asked how I was doing. If she hadn’t, I may not have learned to care for myself and I may not be here today. I don’t want my clients to wonder if I’m well enough to do the job, or question if another agent has the stamina to do more. If we are vibrant, energized and focused, our clients will notice that, too. This is why I’m an open book with my agents about what I’ve been through and we make a commitment to having health and wellness as part of our work culture. I talk about my health struggles and success all the time, but I couldn’t share it if I didn’t actually take action to improve my overall well-being. That’s what makes a good leader. As a result, a good amount of our agents have made life-changing decisions and are no longer skipping sleep or grabbing a bag of chips on the run. Their productivity has increased, they have more energy and feel better about themselves.

We spend at least one-third of our lives at our jobs. Caring for the mind, body and soul should be part of our work atmosphere. If you’re reading this and thinking you may need to shift the demands of your career to accommodate your wellbeing, you’re not alone. 84% of millennials say they’ve felt burned out at their job. But, you can be part of that 16% that isn’t. To be the best agent you can be, you have to schedule time for yourself.

You don’t have to kill yourself to do well. In fact, that mentality will cause you to lose productivity. You just have to commit to listening to your body and managing your time. Life is not easy. Change is not easy! The key is to take baby steps. Plan one meal a day that will fuel your body and go to bed fifteen minutes earlier. A real estate agent’s schedule has flexibility. Take advantage it. It’s better to be on the beach catching up on emails than stressed out at home.

Elisha Lopez is the owner of and a real estate broker with Ocala Realty World in Central Florida. Lopez has more than 20 years of experience in real estate with over 10 of them as a broker/owner leading a large team. She’s also the founder of the ORW School of Real Estate, which serves real estate students seeking licensure in Florida. In her courses and training sessions, Elisha shares her unique real estate expertise, insider tips and digital marketing strategies. Elisha is a graduate of The Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in interior design. Elisha’s No. 1 goal in business and in life is to help others. She operates Ocala Realty World with her husband and brokerage partner, Luis Lopez, who first encouraged her to start a career in real estate two decades ago.

Elisha Lopez – Broker/Owner
License #: BK3214538

352-789-6746
www.ocalarealtyworld.com
2709 Sw 27th Ave, Ste. 103, Ocala, FL 34471