Jeff Hicks, MAI President  Dohring Group RealWired!

Time is a funny concept.  Sometimes we're very busy (compressed time), but on vacation our perception is we have more time (elongated time). Americans have the most time-saving devices but yet have less time than any other nation on the planet. The Newtonian view is that time is a dimension independent of events in which things occur in sequence - objects moving through some kind of "container" we call time. The opposing view is that time is neither an event nor thing and can't be measured. Einstein said time is an illusion. The concept of time is problematic for philosophers, theologians, scientists and just about anybody who attempts to define it. So it's interesting that we talk about it all the time as it relates to our personal and work life. 

I just got back from a long sailing vacation in St. Lucia in the Eastern Caribbean. We attended a wedding there and stayed on a 41' sailing catamaran (bare boat charter) along the leeward coast of St. Lucia and the French island of Martinique. Slowing down I realized how badly I really needed a vacation. Prior to the vacation, my brain started to convert all forms of communication to "blah blah blah blah."  All work and no play make Jack a dull boy.

Commercial real estate appraising, like any other business, typically means you might find your office in disarray coming back from a long vacation. For us, we are lucky to have A-players at our office that follow established systems and procedures making my transition back to work much easier. No fires to put out. No angry customers. No late appraisals. Work continues without me. At first I felt sad that things continue to operate smoothly in my absence but then I realized that automation of our office workflow is key to my happiness.

The list below are things you may want to consider "making time" for in your world:

• Time for a vacation
• Time for your health
• Time with family
• Time for your hobby
• Time for education (appraisal and non-appraisal)
• Time to change how you create appraisals
• Time to write down procedures in your office
• Time to implement software to be more productive
• Time to measure your appraisal hourly wage
• Time to write a business plan
• Time to write a succession plan

While the definition of time will be debated for "eternity", your world is finite. Manage your time wisely...or not...it's your world after all. However if you choose to better manage your work time you may be surprised that your efforts will quickly translate into significant improvement of your life/work balance. After all, who doesn't want to take more time off?

This list is a subtle nod to the priorities in your life. We tend to do the stuff that we want to do, sometimes blowing off the things we should do. Lao Tzu said, "Time is a created thing. To say 'I don't have time,' is like saying, 'I don't want to'." Do you find yourself reacting to appraisal work volume, often feeling swamped or do you feel in control confidently taking the helm of your work? M. Scott Peck once quipped "Until you value yourself, you won't value your time. Until you value your time, you will not do anything with it." Be in charge of your own clock.  The time is now.