I used to think that doubling my production meant doubling my hours. I believed that if I wanted more closings I had to give more time. Then I started actually tracking where the time was going, and I realized I was giving away 10 hours every week to things that had not produced a single transaction in months.
This episode is for anyone who has ever said they cannot add one more thing to their plate. The answer is not adding more. The answer is a simple three-word framework: Stop. Start. Keep.
Busy does not equal effective. Busy does not equal loans closed. The goal is to do more in less time, not to be intoxicated with busy. Our businesses should serve us and our families. Not the other way around.
The Real Cost of Busy
I was working with a loan officer who told me she wanted to close 10 to 15 loans a month but could not figure out where the time would come from. So I asked her to walk me through a typical week.
She was attending two BNI groups and one Chamber meeting every single week. Each one takes about three hours door to door, counting travel and the meeting itself. That is nine to ten hours every week in those three activities alone.
Then I asked her one question: how many loans had she closed as a direct result of BNI or the Chamber in the last six months?
The answer was zero.
"Not one transaction had closed in six months. She had lots of conversations, exchanged plenty of leads, but not one closed loan you could trace directly back to those nine hours a week."
That is not a judgment on BNI or Chamber organizations. They are great. The question is not whether they are good. The question is whether they are worth it for you, right now, given what you are trying to accomplish. And if the honest answer is that nine hours produced zero closings, that is something that needs to be on the Stop list.
Stop. Start. Keep.
Most people think getting better results means starting something new. What I find consistently is that you need to stop something first. There are activities in your business right now that are taking time, energy, and focus with almost nothing to show for it at the bottom line.
Green Time vs. Red Time
Here is a simple system I use to stay honest about where my hours actually go. Everything on my calendar gets coded one of two ways.
The goal is not to eliminate red time entirely. You have to run the business. The goal is to look at your calendar at the end of every week and be honest: was there enough green time to hit my daily number? If not, what red time can be reduced or eliminated to make room?
The Weekly Practice: Friday 5
Every Friday, look back at the week and run the Stop, Start, Keep evaluation. What chunks of time did not produce results? What activity actually moved the needle? What do I need to carry into next week?
And here is the standard I hold myself to: if I can complete 80 percent of what was on my calendar without getting derailed, that is a win. We are not chasing perfection. Progress is greater than perfection. If I can get a little more effective each week, I will be a different loan officer in 30 days than I am today.
The Friday Huddles go deep on this every week.
When you join the 5-Day Predictable Producer Challenge, you get access to the Friday Huddle coaching calls where we work through time reclamation, Stop, Start, Keep evaluations, and Green Time strategy live. Start whenever you are ready.
Start the Challenge ›How to Say No Without Burning Bridges
One of the things that comes up every time I talk about this is: how do I say no to things I am already committed to without damaging relationships?
Here is a phrase worth keeping: "I am going to respectfully decline that invitation."
Clean. Professional. Final. You do not have to explain, apologize, or over-justify. You can add "keep me in mind for future events" if you want to leave the door open. But you do not owe anyone a full accounting of your calendar. You just need to protect the hours that are actually building your business.
Stop the ineffective. Start the most productive. Keep what keeps things moving. Run that evaluation every Friday and get a little better every week.
Anything worth doing is worth doing badly. Just get started.