Deep Real Estate
Deep real estate is my shorthand for an approach to real estate inspired by author Cal Newport’s work, specifically his 2016 book Deep Work. Newport argues that the distractions of life and work online make it ever harder for our brains to stay focused on one task at a time, which limits our cognitive capacity and makes us miserable. I’ve been deeply (no pun intended) inspired by Newport’s framework of thinking and tactical suggestions for living a deeper life, and have spent the last several months since discovering his podcast, Deep Questions, ruminating on how to incorporate this philosophy into my work as a real estate broker.
Can real estate be deep work?
This job is frenetic, all-consuming, and can often feel completely out of my control. On any given day I might wake up and have one expectation of the day, and then seven completely unexpected things have happened. It’s tempting to give into the swirl and say, well, there’s no way to control this so why even try? The days become consumed with emails, texts, app notifications and thinking, writing and doing the pursuits to grow my business sustainably for the long term are on the back burner. I’m not alone among workers this way--Newport’s new book cites a statistic that the average knowledge worker checks email every 6 minutes.
A few practices that I’ve incorporated to invite depth into my work follow. The impetus is admittedly selfish; to preserve my cognitive capacity and happiness, but I know clients and colleagues gain some spillover benefits.
Time Block Planning
I start the day by filling in the hard landscape of the day - the appointments on my calendar that are fixed and can’t be moved. As Newport recommends, when the schedule “breaks,” meaning an appointment runs over time or plans change otherwise, you simply “fix” or rebuild the schedule at the earliest opportunity. I’ve learned not to become overly attached to any schedule for the day, because there are often new complexities that get introduced as the day goes on--tours booked or canceled, urgent transaction communication to address, etc.
Music as a Deep Work Hook
Newport encourages building rituals around deep work: a sequence of activities that should be enjoyable and set the brain up to recognize that when these things happen, it’s time for deep work. The one I’ve implemented most consistently is the offer writing ritual. No one would want to hear their surgeon taking a phone call while they’re on the operating table, and I take writing an offer for the biggest financial transaction of someone’s life just as seriously.
“Writing an offer” means selecting the relevant MLS forms, filling in the blanks on the forms with the terms desired or required to win, placing the forms in order and setting up the forms to be signed by my client. I like to start by physically writing a list of the forms that will be part of the offer--using a specific pen on a tactile and aesthetically pleasing notepad by Elum Design.
When I’m writing the offer, I listen to an Odesza playlist on Spotify that I’ve trained myself to associate with this task. During this time, I don’t answer the phone, texts or check email. The result is a process that is more pleasurable for me--which is important if I’m writing 3-4 of these a week.
Meditation
What I love about a meditation practice is that on days when I have meditated, I can sink deeply back into the feeling of sitting and breathing, at any time. I love this tool especially when having a hard conversation or a negotiation with another agent. Over time, I’ve become comfortable in a phone conversation with silence. The other party usually rushes to fill the silences and the more information they share, or the more quickly they seek to solve a problem by filling empty space with words, the more my side typically stands to gain. I’ve also found that smiling into a question--actually smiling as I ask something even over the phone when the other person can’t see me, can change the tenor of a conversation.
I’m not afraid to ask clients how they are feeling at various points in the process. “How do you want to feel when you set foot into your new home? What senses do you want to engage in those first moments?” and “How are you feeling today after finding out we won the home?” are examples of questions I ask to invite my clients to get grounded in their own feelings. These also help me get to know them and their needs better.
Digital Sundown
My evening goal is to be reading on the couch at 9 pm without my phone. This isn’t always practical--sometimes negotiations stretch later into the evening and I’m required to be available to communicate past this time. But probably 10 days in a two week period it’s more than reasonable to put down the technology and give myself time to wind down before bed.
