Time Management for Mortgage Professionals

In this fast-paced industry, everyday seems to be filled with urgent matters that scream "Do me now!" Managing your office like the emergency ward can only lead to mistakes, bad attitudes, and burn out. The master of life habits, Stephen Covey, gave us a dynamic tool, The Time Management Matrix, in his book entitled, "First Things First". In addition to acknowledging the challenges we all face with defining our priorities, Stephen Covey's matrix gives us the life-altering tools we need to put things in the proper perspective.



The Time Management Matrix below contains some specific examples for the mortgage industry to help you and your team gain control of your time.

Quadrant 1-Quadrant of Necessity

These activities need to be done to maintain the business. They are:

• Pressing problems / crisis

• Deadline-driven projects

• Last-minute preparations for scheduled activities

Examples:

1. Expiring rate locks

2. Document signing for compliance

3. Meeting final approval conditions

4. Closing problems

5.



Planning/preparing for appointments, speaking engagements

Quadrant 2 - Quadrant of Quality & Personal Leadership

These activities improve your quality of life. Long term neglect of these areas could cause them to become Quadrant 1 issues. They include:

• Goal setting and project planning

• Preventive maintenance

• Working toward life values

Examples:

1. Analyzing expenses

2. Forecasting your production goals

3. Adopting a healthy lifestyle

4. Taking a class

5. Spending time with family

6. Engaging in recreational activities

7.



Hiring/training staff members

Quadrant 3- Quadrant of Deception

These items disguise themselves as urgent when in reality they are not. They could be:

• Destructive

• A delegated task

• Busy work

• In conflict with your long term goals

Examples:

1. Excessive phone calls from dysfunctional family members during the work day

2. Drop-ins from visitors known and unknown

3. Commercial direct mail and e-mail solicitations

4. Telemarketer calls

5. Team member disagreements or disputes

Quadrant 4-Quadrant of Waste

These items should not be permitted to rule the day.



Eliminate or reschedule as many as possible.

These items are not urgent or important and do not contribute to your success. They could be:

• Trivial

• Mindless

• An escape from reality

Examples:

1. Chatting on the phone or online during the workday

2. Watching mindless TV for hours on end

3. Reading all your junk regular mail and e-mail

4. Engaging in office gossip

5. Busywork

6. Surfing the net without a goal in mind

These activities can be extremely wasteful and typically do not address the concerns or problems at hand.



It is extremely important for your success to identify what you want to accomplish and why. Implement strategies to eliminate or minimize counter-productive Quadrant 3 and 4 issues. Here are a few suggestions:

1. For team members that need constant direction and guidance, prepare a prioritized task list for them before they arrive at the office. Give them a deadline for completion and provide instruction as needed.

2. Relocate your workspace to distance yourself from the self-absorbed office guy or girl who never shuts up.



If you can't relocate, close the door. If you happen to be caught off guard, stand up when they enter as if you were just on your way out of the area.

3. Set the example by planning, organizing, and implementing in accordance with your goals.

4. Just say "no" to frequent interruptions, calls, and requests that get you off course.

5. Hold up a hand to halt (or a finger to delay) the conversation of the Quadrant 3 person who just invaded your space. They will suddenly realize that you were already otherwise engaged before they interrupted.



Hopefully they will retreat or at least wait patiently.

6. For the person who continuously starts the Quadrant 1 fires that you have to put out, have a serious conversation with them to let them know the long term impact of their actions. Relay the information on an individual level and give the "big picture" version.

As you dedicate yourself to managing your time and resources better, you will begin to see the results you've always wanted.

Stephanie Graham is a mortgage professional with more than two decades of experience in both retail and wholesale lending.



Stephanie has excelled in a number of mortgage industry positions including CRA officer,corporate trainer, and consultant. Stephanie is currently a part of the executive team of Complete Mortgage Processing. More tips and techniques for mortgage processing and origination can be found at http: http://www.completemortgageprocessing.com