How I Manage My Time as a Busy Parent and Business Owner

By Lindsay Dreyer

Lindsay Dreyer is the Broker/Owner of City Chic Real Estate, a woman-owned, boutique, independent brokerage serving the Metro DC, Baltimore and Fredericksburg areas. Her passion is helping agents live their dream lives through real estate.

A lot of people ask me, “How do you get so much done having three kids and owning a real estate brokerage?” That’s why today, I’m going to break down my time management routine that I do every single week and have been doing since the birth of my first child, in hopes that it helps you get more done and feel a little bit less stressed. Here’s my proven four-step weekly management routine:

Step 1: The brain dump. I start with a brain dump, and I religiously do this every Sunday night or Monday morning, depending on my schedule and what’s going on with my family. This helps me just get everything out of my brain onto one or two pieces of paper, and I tend to break it down into work, personal, and family. This could be as simple as ordering the pest control for your house, renting out one of your rental units, or ensuring the appraisal is done on one of your listings. It’s anything that needs to be done that is taking up brain space and keeping you awake at night. Just get it on paper if it is bothering you or in your brain.

Step 2: Weekly planning. The second thing I do is take a look at my upcoming week and then plan my week. I take a sheet of paper and divide it into columns for Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. I have one column for my appointments and another for what I would like to get done. I put in all of my appointments and time blocks for personal time, family time, and then work appointments—in that order. It’s crucial to prioritize personal and family time first; otherwise, work will inevitably take over.

Step 3: Creating the to-do list. Next, I tackle my to-do list, created from the brain dump. I pick the most urgent tasks for the week and plug them into my schedule based on the time each task will take. I write next to each task the estimated completion time, whether it’s 30 minutes, an hour, or three hours, and then fit them into my schedule accordingly. For instance, if I need to prepare a listing agreement for a property, I know that it will take 45 minutes, so I find a suitable slot in my schedule for it. This approach helps me manage my time more effectively.

Step 4: Managing big projects. It’s not just about urgent to-dos; sometimes, you have bigger projects that require deep thinking. I break these projects into smaller chunks and aim to complete at least one or two of these smaller tasks each week. For example, if I’m working on a marketing campaign or updating a listing packet, I break it down into manageable parts, like one slide at a time or two slides a week. This method makes large projects more manageable and ensures steady progress without needing to find a large block of uninterrupted time.

This tried-and-true method has been my go-to time management strategy for the past nine years, and it works for me. I hope it works for you, too. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me by calling 703-362-1667. I look forward to hearing from you!