When you’re selling your home, and especially when you’re also shopping for a new home, you need to manage your time carefully. Otherwise, it’s all too easy to feel rushed and stressed. Here are some tips that will help:
- Block out times on your calendar for home selling/buying activities. For example, book “Saturday 9-11am, Declutter the main floor.” The simple act of scheduling these activities makes them easier and more manageable.
- Be pessimistic when scheduling. That is, set aside more time than you expect an activity to take. For example, if you estimate you’ll need three hours on Saturday afternoon to check out new neighborhoods, add an hour. If you get it done in less time, it will be a bonus!
- Maintain a to-do list. That way, details won’t fall through the cracks and cause stress. If possible, use a to-do app on your phone that automatically alerts you of important tasks.
- Leave plenty of one-hour breaks in your schedule. Time management experts call these “buffer periods”. You need these times for unexpected tasks, activities that go overtime, and just to take a breather!
- Whenever possible, get help. It could take you three days to paint several rooms on your own. Or, it could take just one day with a couple of family members or friends helping. (That’s two full days saved.) Of course, it won’t take you much time at all if you hire a painting contractor!
- Use technology to save time. For example, use Google Maps to estimate driving times, and the caption feature on your phone’s camera to make notes and take pictures of homes you see.
It doesn’t take much to manage your time better. When you do, selling your home and buying another will be a lot less frantic.
