Plan Personal Time First (Yes, First): The Real Estate Agent Calendar Method

On this week’s episode of Seeking the Best, I talk about a simple shift for real estate agents that instantly creates more clarity (and a lot less guilt): plan your personal time first.

I know it sounds crazy but it is the only way to be sure you actually take time off AND that you have clarity around how many days you're actually working.

Why planning personal time first works

When you start with personal time, you’re doing two important things:

1. You’re protecting your recovery time. Real estate is emotionally intense and mentally loud. If you're working hard you deserve a break!

2. You’re getting honest about how much you're actually working. When you mark off vacations, family days, weekends, and personal appointments first, you can finally see how many true working days you have left.

And that number is usually smaller than you think.

“Plan Personal Time First”: The Real Estate Agent Calendar Method

Here’s the exercise:

1. Pull up your calendar (digital or paper—either works). Here is a link to the one I use: Calendarpedia

2. Mark the days and times you will not be working:

   • trips + travel days

   • long weekends

   • family events

   • personal appointments

   • recovery time (yes, schedule it)

Once you do this, you’ll see your real inventory of workdays—and that is the foundation for a realistic business plan.

How this helps your real estate agent business plan

“Plan Personal Time First”: The Real Estate Agent Calendar Method works because when you plan personal time first, your goals stop being wishful thinking and start becoming a math problem.

For example:

• If your contact goal is 2,000 contacts per year to hit the sales goal...

• and you only have 210 true workdays…

• that’s about 10 contacts a day.

That’s not overwhelming. That’s doable.

This method helps you:

• break annual goals into weekly targets

• build daily lead generation habits you can keep

• plan listing appointments, follow-up blocks, and admin time with less stress

• stop “overbooking your future self”

What you’ll get from this episode

If you’ve been feeling like your schedule runs you (instead of the other way around), this episode will help you:

• create breathing room without losing productivity

• plan around real life (instead of pretending it won’t happen)

• set contact goals that match your actual availability

• feel more consistent, calm, and confident week to week

• 
  

My Calendar Template + Walkthrough Video

I’m sharing the exact calendar I use, plus a short video of me working through it step-by-step.

✅ Download/View the Calendar Here: Calendarpedia Color Annual calendar & Other templates

Try this today (5 minutes)

If you want a quick win, do this right now:

• Mark off your next personal day on the calendar

• Then look at what’s left

• Decide what “success” looks like for your week based on reality—not pressure

That’s how you start building momentum.

Keep listening

If you want more real-world strategies to build a business that supports your life (not the other way around), listen to this week’s episode of Seeking the Best.

And if you try this method, I’d love to hear it—send me a message or share your biggest takeaway.