Boundaries and burnout: The importance of taking a chill pill

Speaking on a recent episode of The Wire, Janzey Pratt, the director of Yamba Realty Group, said that while it’s easy to get lost in the hustle and bustle of the job, she believes that having downtime is vital to prevent being burnt out. 

But it’s not just about taking time off from the job or the business. Ms Pratt emphasised that taking rest should be done intentionally. 

“We have to be very intentional about that, especially when you are a small-business owner and a woman as well. It’s in our nature to constantly give out to others and not actually give back to ourselves,” she stressed. 

Ms Pratt even shared an interesting categorisation of the types of work time-outs she takes. 

“We have ‘flashy and fancy’, and ‘cheap and cheerful’. And you can have your flashy and fancy holiday where you go, maybe five-star or whatever. And then, you have your cheap and cheerful, and it might just be going camping,” she shared. 

No matter what type (and how long) of a break you are planning to take, Ms Pratt reiterated that the first step is the most important step — committing to it. 

“If you don’t book that in, over the year, you won’t do it. You just won’t go. And then, you get to the end of the year and you’re absolutely knackered, and you’ve got nothing left in the tank, and you can’t be at your best,” Ms Pratt said. 

She urged anyone in the real estate industry to take care of their personal health and prioritise having breaks if they want to perform at their optimal capacity. 

“You can’t be what you need to be for people if you’re completely worn out,” she stated. 

As for timing when downtime is needed, Ms Janzey opined that it differs from person to person: “It comes with experience and time and figuring it out and what some people can go harder for a lot longer. We’re all individuals. You’ll figure out in your own space, in your own time, what that looks like for you. 

“So you might be someone that can actually go for six months and not have a break. Other people might need to do it every quarter. I like to focus on it every quarter. And then, you’ll also get to know your local marketplace as to when you can have those breaks as well.”

In addition to taking breaks, she also champions healthy boundary setting for every real estate professional.

“I think if you don’t have boundaries in this industry, you will burn out,” Ms Pratt stated. 

While the last couple of years have been “quite fatiguing” due to the flurry of market activity, Ms Pratt shared that agents are now breathing a sigh of relief as the market returns to normal levels. 

“[We] could not have sustained that type of marketplace on all levels financially, emotionally, physically, mentally. You just could not keep going at that pace, so I know for one, they were like, ‘Oh, thank God’,” she said.

Highlighting how “frantic” those times were, she also shared that the fear-of-missing-out sentiment sent buyers into a frenzy. 

During this period, Ms Pratt revealed her advice for her agents was to “take a chill pill” and to set healthy boundaries with clients. 

“You can have boundaries, and you can control the communication. And when people contact you, and if you don’t put boundaries on yourself and respect your own time, no one else is going to. It’s just that simple. So you’ve just got to be really firm with people. It’s almost like being a mother at some point … tough love!” she said.

She said that by locking in certain times as “non-negotiables”, agents can take control not just of their time, but their mental health as well. 

“I say to people, ‘I’m at an appointment, I have a meeting’ because it is; It’s a meeting with my family or it’s a meeting for me with my mental health or going for a massage.

“That is an actual diarised time for me and my family or for whoever; And this is my time for business and clients. You can control it,” she expressed.

And while the prospect might be daunting for agents who are afraid of losing business by setting boundaries, she advised that there are other actions that prove you are invested in them — which can be as simple as taking phone calls.

Revealing that even if she’s with a client, she will always answer calls from her team, her family, and her kids “because they’re important”, she stated that people see where she places her importance — and they value that.  

“When clients see you doing that, they’re like, ‘Okay. Well, we’re going to be just as important to her as what these people are.’  

“That type of thing is an action. It’s not just words. It’s like love is an action. Investing in people is an action. You can talk, talk, talk as much as you want about how much you care, but if you don’t demonstrate, it’s words that are lost in the wind,” she stated. 

Listen to the full conversation with Janzey Pratt here.