Unpopular Opinion: I Don't Want To Do It All
Is anyone else feeling overworked, overwhelmed, overtired, and just over trying to do it all. We see all these people on social media juggling their job, family, side hustles, fitness routines, healthy meals, and the list goes on and on and on. It’s like we all have to do everything, and every time we even think about the D word -delegating - the guilt sets in.
Now sometimes this can be because of workplace culture, but often times it’s this unrealistic expectation we set on ourselves. We think to show our worth at work and even at life, we need to be able to wear all the hats. If we show any sort of weakness, say no to any task, skip the tools and opt to DIY - that’s showing that we can’t do it, we fear we may miss some opportunities and we might feel like big ole failures.
So unpopular opinion, I DON’T WANT TO DO IT ALL. In fact, I want to work as little as I can get away with while still being great at my job.
SHIFTING YOUR PRIORITIES
Now I realize of course that this sounds absolutely terrible, but hear me out. Of course, we should like our jobs as we spend one-third of our lives working. However, there is a difference between living to work versus working to live.
When you live to work, all of your self-worth comes from your job. When things are great, it’s great. However, when things go sideways - that’s when it all starts to crumble. Any slight is a personal attack on your character because work is your identity. Trust me, I’ve been there, done that - and it’s not fun.
When you shift your thinking so that you work to live, you shift your priorities. Now, this doesn’t mean you slack off at work - it means the exact opposite. You find ways to become more efficient at work so you can maximize your time living your life doing other things you love. You’ll be surprised when you shift your way of thinking, how you become better at your job and you actually find it more enjoyable.
YOUR SUCCESS IS THEIR SUCCESS
Often times we feel like needing extra tools, training, time, and assistance means that we aren’t good at our jobs. So we don’t ask for anything extra and hope that someone can read our minds and offer. But what happens when no one offers?
We internalize it. We come in early, stay at work late, eat lunch at our desk, complain to anyone who will listen, and survive purely on a drawer full of snacks and about 15 cups of coffee a day. We convince ourselves that eventually things will even out. While we live off that lifestyle of champions, we think we are doing the most while also feeling under-appreciated. The ultimate recipe for burnout.
What it took me YEARS to realize is that advocating for myself is actually in a company’s best interest. Yes, something may be extra money, but regardless someone is paying for it in one way or another.
First, you pay the price…
When you stay at work late, you pay an extra $6 for coffee from Starbucks since you are so tired.
When you work through your lunch break, you pay $15-30 on takeout for dinner because you’re starving and don’t have the energy to cook.
When you try to do it all yourself, you pay with your sanity by answering the same questions a million times, and then you’re late sending your supervisor or owner the report they needed yesterday.
After you pay the price, the company pays the price…
If you overwork someone without providing the tools and training to manage their priorities, then you pay the price with employee turnover.
When you are always hiring new people, you pay thousands of dollars in other employees’ time in training that new hire. Even more so when you don’t have easy training resources in place. (Cough Cough…Sprout Membership…Cough Cough.)
When everyone is busy recruiting, training, and not focusing on your residents, you pay the price in resident turnover.
When you have lots of resident turnover, you now have to pay thousands of dollars in advertising to market your community because you need to fill units yesterday.
ADVOCATE FOR THE TOOLS YOU NEED
When you feel the symptoms of burnout start to creep in, evaluate where you can start to find shortcuts (little hacks) without sacrificing quality. Obviously, at Sprout Marketing, we truly believe that marketing, social media, events, and retention have so many easy shortcuts - I know shameless plug again, I have a problem - I truly believe in saving property manager’s time!
A lot of the times, your supervisor doesn’t care how you get it done, as long as you get it done. The best way to present it is almost like a game of “Would You Rather”:
I know you want me to post on social media, would you rather I spend 10 hours a month doing that from scratch OR I could use a tool that helps me get it done in an hour so I can do ___Insert Their Other Priorities Here____.
I know you want me to host 2 resident events a month, would you rather I spend 4 hours planning and executing the event each time, or I could use a tool that helps me get that down to 1 hour so I can work on ___Insert Their Other Priorities Here____.
Your time is literally money. Adding a small extra investment in a platform that helps you do your job faster SAVES them money, and money talks!
Social Media DIY: If you spend 10 hours a month doing social media and you make around $20/hr that’s $200/month.
If you use Sprout: It costs you $59/month + $20 for 1 hour of your time each month which comes out to $79/month. That saves them $121/month in your time that they can allocate elsewhere to better their company and their bottom line.
FREE IDEAS
The Sprout Monthly digital magazine full of ideas and resources for marketing, retention, events, and social media to make your job easier.
IT’S OK TO SET BOUNDARIES
As you advocate for the tools you need, begin to set boundaries with yourself, your team, your residents, and your supervisors. When setting boundaries it’s about being flexible, realistic, and clear.
Flexible: Don’t draw a line in the sand in terms of what you are and are not willing to do. Instead, think of it as a give and take. If your employer needs you to say late during busy periods, see if they would be open to having you have a handful of half-days to offset it. Not every day or week needs to be the same.
Realistic: It’s not always an all-or-nothing scenario. Be realistic about what you can actually accomplish during work hours. Things are not always set in stone, so you can see if you can move things around to accommodate urgent requests without overworking yourself.
Clear: Often times things may seem urgent when they aren’t. My advice is to always present the solution or timetable that works for you with a line like “Let me know if this doesn’t work for you.” 9/10 it does work for them and then you don’t have to go into fire-drill mode.
THE ONLY THING YOU CAN CONTROL IS YOURSELF
In all jobs, especially property management, there are LOTS of variables you can’t control. However, the one thing you can control is you.
No one cares about you, more than you. It’s up to you to make yourself a priority AND ADVOCATE FOR YOURSELF.
You can control how you deal with imperfect situations by following some of the tips above. Whether you ask for a tool like the Sprout membership (yes, I’m shameless, let me LIVE), ask for more time on a report, ask your resident if it’s OK if you give them a call tomorrow to discuss an issue instead of this very second - you can control your approach to getting what you want if you just ask for it.
The key is about presenting that was is best for you in a way that shows it’s actually best for someone else too. Doing this is a skill you need to continue to exercise, and like Elle Woods says. “Exercise gives you endorphins. Endorphins make you happy. Happy people just don't kill their husbands, they just don't.”
WHICH SPROUTER ARE YOU?
PARTNER WITH SPROUT TO PRIORITIZE YOURSELF WHILE ADVANCING YOUR CAREER.
A. tHE NEWBIE
New to the industry and need a tour guide? Our membership program is the perfect place to start to provide you with the basic training, tools, and tips you need to start off on the right foot.
b. THE BUSY BEE
So busy that you don’t have time to be posting on social media or brainstorm ideas. Have Sprout post on social media for you, plus have access to all our awesome ideas.
C. THE VIP
Wish you had a team of designers at your disposal to do your event invitations, marketing, and retention materials? Well, you can with our VIP membership! Our team is now yours!
