Streamlining Your Life: Tech Tools and Routines for Women in Real Estate

Corrine Bibb [00:00:00]:
Trying to stick to a good, solid morning routine really gets me on the right path and right note. And I think it really also helps you mentally. Like, when you're mentally getting ready to dive into the workday and attack your calendar of the workday, you feel good. You feel ready to go.

Rachael Tresch [00:00:16]:
What happens when Alexa reminds you to check the mole and you have no idea what she's talking about? Turns out communication matters. And even with your smart devices. And in this episode, we're talking organization, boundaries, parenthood, and all of the beautifully chaotic parts of being creative women in the mortgage industry. This is lending leadership. I'm Rach.

Corrine Bibb [00:00:40]:
And I'm Rin. Welcome, everybody. So good to see everyone. And I'm so excited to talk about this today. I don't. I don't even know what we're talking about today, so I am telling you all that Rachel has me queued up for some surprises, so I'm in for it.

Rachael Tresch [00:00:56]:
I know. I wanted you to be. You know, I always like that authentic conversation. You know, how many times are you, like, for us, at least, we're prepping for a podcast and we. We talk about it. I'm like, nope, save it, Save it. I. I like this to be authentic, engaging conversation.

Rachael Tresch [00:01:10]:
And so today we're getting real, and this is the funniest story I have to share with you. So this actually happened yesterday. I had set a reminder on Alexa. I can't say it too loud or she'll start talking. And apparently I didn't articulate enough because, you know, it has the little if you happen, Alexa, you know this. It goes ba boom. Rachel, you have a reminder. Check the mole.

Rachael Tresch [00:01:35]:
And then it does it again. Rachel, you have a reminder. Check the mole. And I'm like, what the heck is the mole like?

Corrine Bibb [00:01:43]:
Isn't it a show, Rachel? I think that's a show. The mole is.

Rachael Tresch [00:01:48]:
I had zero recollection of what I was trying to be organized about and what I was trying to remind myself. So I'm like, do I have a mole that I need to check? Like, are there mice? And then I'm talking through this, and my son goes, the mole. The mole. He goes, mom, the mold. Check the mold. And I had bought this little thing on Amazon. It's like these little petri dishes, because I wanted to put it in our back room of our basement to see if there was mold. Congratulations.

Rachael Tresch [00:02:15]:
Trash family has no mold, which I'm very excited about. But the.

Corrine Bibb [00:02:19]:
The thing.

Rachael Tresch [00:02:20]:
The whole thing was like, if you're not communicating, even if you're Being as organized as possible and you think you're doing all the right things. If you are not articulating and communicating things properly, things get lost in translation, just like the mold. And I just thought that was so funny. Like, honestly, I sat there for a while, I'm like, what the heck is the molecule? And isn't that how life goes, Right? Or you think you're being super organized and you're like, what? What was I trying to remind myself? Does that ever happen to you? Or maybe it's just my crazy life.

Corrine Bibb [00:02:52]:
Every hour, you know, especially with, you know, not to bring it into the spouses, but we've got to communicate with these spouses. Any of you have school age kids, young kids, even older kids, there's still, you know, stuff with their schedules and important things that you want to be at and support them at. So especially for our working professional mothers, which really, you know, hits near and dear to my heart and I know Rachel's as well. It is a constant game of communication and organization and how to do it. I want to hear everybody's tips and tricks today. You know, we all have our own systems and it'll be fun to share systems today, Rach. But I like to hear what everybody else is doing because I feel like I'm always picking up on things. For example, Shameless Plug Skylight calendar.

Corrine Bibb [00:03:44]:
You will owe me for this. Skylight Calendar. Hello? Is anyone doing this? I was retargeted. I was retargeted online and then I kept getting retargeted and then there was all these like busy working mothers who were speaking to me on videos and I was like this on my scroll, I was like, what's this? And there was color codes, guys. There was schedules, there was color codes, there was contact information, there was point systems. And my stimulation just went off the charts. Add, I've got it. Who else has it? And I gotta tell you, I'm ordering one and people are telling me it is life changing.

Corrine Bibb [00:04:23]:
It is like an iPad system basically that people keep on the wall. It's in their kitchen or on the countertop. And it takes all of your systems. Outlook, Gmail, Google Team, Snap. Game changer. If you have school age kids, anything else that you're using from a technology standpoint, and it streamlines it into a schedule which is sitting for you in like, you know, your hub spot of your household for yourself, your spouse, your kids, your, your cousins, your uncles, whomever lives with you can all look at and, and operate by. Amazing.

Rachael Tresch [00:04:56]:
So it's like, I've seen that too. But did you haven't bought it yet or you're gonna get it?

Corrine Bibb [00:05:01]:
I've got it in the card and I'm reading and I've confirmed with two other very busy working ladies for all of our lady loan officers and mortgage and real estate professionals out there that they love it.

Rachael Tresch [00:05:15]:
I feel like I really need something like this because I've got my Outlook calendar, the Gmail calendar for family stuff. Yes. The game changer team Snap. All of the, all of the team things plays and all. It's just, it gets to be overwhelming and, and we live in this era of more connectiveness and technology than ever before. Yet I am the mother who has shown up to birthday parties as they're ending. No true story. And then my kids are crying and they're like, you did it again.

Rachael Tresch [00:05:44]:
And I'm like, I'm sorry. I'm just, I'm, I'm overloaded and overwhelmed and I'm trying my best here. And you know, we just sometimes have those mom fails. But it's funny story now I guess the kids still like give me a look at a cringe on their face when, when I bring that story up. But I, I think I need it. I think I need. So what is it called again? Skylight.

Corrine Bibb [00:06:07]:
Called Skylight Calendar. So everybody look it up. Skylight Calendar.

Rachael Tresch [00:06:12]:
Okay, I need that.

Corrine Bibb [00:06:13]:
I am hearing real life testimonials from busy working professional mothers. Like many of us, many of you, loan officers, many real estate agents, and you know, just business partners in our field, all kind of operating with the same challenges, the same struggles, the same obstacles that we have to overcome to feel healthy on a daily basis, make sure that we're performing super well professionally at work and then also at home. So it's, it's a lot and we need all the tools we can get. Right?

Rachael Tresch [00:06:43]:
I know, I really love that. If anyone's using that, can you please comment down below? Or if you're using something similar, I'd love to know what you're using. That works for, for everything, that central hub. I need that because staying organized in this chaotic time in life, whether you have kids or don't have kids or you've got dogs or you've got, maybe you just have a super busy business. I mean, staying organized, especially going into the holiday season that we're just about to go into, it just gets nuttier. So I'd love to know what you're using to stay on track because I think we all have good intentions. But when you drop the ball. I mean, that doesn't look good.

Rachael Tresch [00:07:25]:
Professionally, personally, you know, you're. I always tell my kids, you know, your word is everything. That is your integrity. That is everything. If you say you're gonna be somewhere, be there. Don't be the mom who shows up to the party after the fact.

Corrine Bibb [00:07:39]:
Right?

Rachael Tresch [00:07:39]:
Like, have that integrity that your word means something. And if you're showing up late all the time, that just. It doesn't fly. It doesn't fly. I would love to know on a busy day like today, Corinne, because we're. We're going back to back. It's one of those weeks, I think, that we're just in back to back meetings. I know anyone in the mortgage and real estate world can, can relate to that.

Rachael Tresch [00:08:06]:
How do you. How do you keep it all together, Corinne? Tell me, how do you keep it all together?

Corrine Bibb [00:08:11]:
It's a loaded question, you know, to bite off of a mantra of Dave Hollins, our president and one of our lending leadership, you know, side podcast or the Mortgage Pro podcast. A good, solid morning routine is something that I rely on. I'm really doing some of the same steps every single morning. Admittedly, sometimes it gets out of whack or it gets twisted or shifted around. Uh, if somebody in my household is off, it can affect others and that routine. But trying to stick to a good, solid morning routine really gets me on the right path and right note. And I think it really also helps you mentally. Like when you're mentally getting ready to dive into the workday and attack your calendar of the workday, you feel good, you feel ready to go.

Corrine Bibb [00:09:00]:
Um, and I've been in spaces where it hasn't worked out, and I've been the other way around. And I'm like, oh, no, I can't start a day like this. I've got to start a day in the right headspace. So a solid morning routine is something that I rely on. I know that that looks different for every single individual. Many times it includes, you know, organization, getting yourself ready, coffee, helping family members exercise, mental reading, or some type of a meditation process that works for you that just gets you stabilized in the morning. So it can be any of those components that, that fit you. But sticking to it consistently, which is something we always talk about, is consistency and so many different things on this podcast is really important.

Corrine Bibb [00:09:42]:
And then I'm always looking ahead. I am a prepare person. That is one of my tools. So I like to see a week, I like to take a look on a Sunday night or Monday a week ahead. It doesn't mean I'm memorizing what's happening on Thursday or Friday. It's not for that reason. It's if there's a larger meeting, presentation discussion I have coming up, what do I need to time block ahead to prepare for that meeting so that I'm valuable to the other people that I'm in the room with. Right.

Corrine Bibb [00:10:12]:
So I prepare lightly for a week ahead and then I'm also looking at day to day ahead as well, so that I can also time block. Very important time to myself in between. How are you getting anything done? If you're, you know, going to coffee meetings the entire day or if you're on the phone the entire day, you need those down times to work on those follow ups, notes, projects or deliverables. Anything that you might be promising, maybe a real estate partner, a presentation that you need to prepare for or a flyer that you need. Those, those moments are important that they're blocked in between those sales calls and sales times. Right. So that's kind of preparation. Good morning routine is all a part of, I guess, my long winded now answer to your question, Rachel.

Rachael Tresch [00:11:07]:
It's a great answer and it's honest. And some days we're really on it and then we have to give ourselves grace when we fall off of that. I heard a really great not quote, but just way of thinking about things that I'm, I might, I might mess it up a little bit here, but there's a major difference between motivation and discipline. Motivation is what you feel. Oh, like I don't feel like going to the gym or, or like I'm really motivated to go to the gym or I'm really motivated to not cheat on my calendar. Motivation comes with feelings. But discipline, those are our non negotiables. Those are the things that we do, rain or shine.

Rachael Tresch [00:11:43]:
It's not a matter of feeling, it's a matter of, like I said, the non negotiable, that we do this regardless and to get into that discipline mindset, that is really difficult to do. If it were easy, everyone would be doing it. Everyone would be a top producer in the best shape of their lives. Be, you know, balanced in all areas. So again, I keep coming back to grace. We have to give ourselves grace when we fall short. But I think that is the ultimate goal, to have that discipline in the areas that are important to you. And that just keeps rattling around in my mind.

Rachael Tresch [00:12:16]:
This week I read that and it was so simple, but I've been beating myself up a little bit about, you know, we're sitting a lot during the day and I've been putting blocks in my calendar to get up during the day and go for a walk, take the dog for a walk or do, do certain things and I'm, I'm letting other things get in the way and I'm cheating on myself. I'm cheating on my calendar and in turn cheating on myself. And, and so I think I need to go back to that old tried and true putting sticky notes all over my, all over my laptop and in front of me here on the wall to just remind myself of those, remind myself of those non negotiables that. Things that I am not going to cheat on myself with. I'd really be curious to hear if other people are doing that. So if you're doing that, put that. We've got lots of call outs today. Put that in the chat.

Rachael Tresch [00:13:05]:
We need your help. This is about us. We need your help here. We can all help each other. But yeah, I don't know. Have you ever thought about it in that context?

Corrine Bibb [00:13:15]:
I have. You know, it's a tie off of what you're saying, giving yourself grace. But then, you know, also the word discipline is important. But sometimes I was actually, I had a, it was a great thought that I got from this business book that I read, the Inner excellence book which I had talked about at our previous sales rally. And it reminds me of a bit out of that, that, that I kind of stuck onto a little bit. When something doesn't work out, when you're trying to be disciplined and something doesn't work out with the routine you have planned, don't let that mentally get you off or frustrate you. That's just what the day was meant to be. And if you keep telling yourself that like, oh, that's what this day was meant for.

Corrine Bibb [00:13:53]:
This morning was meant to be different. I was meant to be on a slightly different path than what I had set out for this morning because all these hiccups and things happen, life happens, right. And you know, the kid is sick, something's wrong with the dog, your spouse needs you because they have to run in an earlier meeting or something is needed in that direction. That is what that morning was meant to be. And you just adjust accordingly. Don't let it throw you off or get you out of your disciplined approach. The other thing that I think is really important with all of what we're discussing is doing our best to be present. That's a lot of.

Corrine Bibb [00:14:29]:
And it really feels like it's not as easy as you may think it is. If you're kind of referencing how many times a day you're checking your phone in the middle of the meeting. I do it a lot. I need to work on it. I check on my phone for a second. Somebody else is handling this portion of the meeting. Let me zone out for a second. Doing the best you can to be present in the situation you're in does, I think, make you feel more balanced and healthy with everything that you're doing surrounding it? I don't know if I said that well, but you did.

Rachael Tresch [00:15:03]:
And I think that is a great reminder, especially again, we're in the mortgage space, so we're going to keep relating it back to our realtors and loan officers and really any referral partner. I've been on the receipt, I've been on the receiving end of that where, you know, someone is kind of checked out and you, you've took, you've taken a long time to prepare something and they're just kind of on another path. They're looking down and it's hard. Hard enough to keep someone's attention on, on a zoom call or a teams call, but when someone's looking down and it, it rattles you a little bit. It takes a minute to, like, you get in your own head. Are they paying attention? Do they care about this? Then in person, that's even worse. If you're looking down at your phone while you're talking to a realtor, if you're a loan officer, that's signaling to that person that you really just don't care. You really care more about what's in your hand and what's on your phone than you do about that relationship.

Rachael Tresch [00:16:02]:
And we are in the relationship service business. Yes, we're creating mortgages and we're in the financial aspect of that, but first and foremost, we are in the relationship building business. And I think that is a huge reminder. Be present. It's hard. You're right. It is very hard.

Corrine Bibb [00:16:24]:
It is hard with all the distractions. There's moments even, you know, even after work where I'm still finishing up something for work, but I need to be moving in to something personal. Right. Block off. I'm now moving into something personal. Work. The computer needs to be shut. The phone is set aside for a minute.

Corrine Bibb [00:16:40]:
This is my blocked personal time for whatever reason. And I think you're going to get into that. Or you had that on the agenda, Rachel, but I did.

Rachael Tresch [00:16:47]:
Yeah.

Corrine Bibb [00:16:49]:
It all kind of ties in together, right?

Rachael Tresch [00:16:52]:
Yeah. Because it is, it is all about that juggle and I think you and I, we seem to live these parallel lives. Our kids are around the same ages, we've been both married about the same amount of time. We're around the same age, we live in the same general area. And I think really any professional can probably relate to this, but moms specifically. When your kids get home from school, there is a chaos that ensues. And instead of both of us were falling into this category of just getting frustrated with children, then dogs barking, then all of a sudden there's all these kids in your house and there's no wifi because they're taking all the wireless service. Like put a time block on your calendar for the time that the kids get home from school for half an hour so you can be present with them and you have no meetings.

Rachael Tresch [00:17:41]:
So it's not like I can't talk right now, you know, and by just doing that same simple thing, it's really helped me. I'm still. It's still something I'm working through, but I'm finding myself getting less frustrated. I hope, I hope you're feeling the same way.

Corrine Bibb [00:17:55]:
Well, I, I've heard many. I've heard the pain of many working female professionals say I'm either feel like I'm half assing at work or I'm half assing at home. Right. I've heard that so many times. And I think what you're saying, Rachel, helps to aid the pain of that a bit, is the time blocks, the time chunks, the schedule are really so that you are looking at whether it's your calendar or noting or memorizing the times of day that are specifically for you to be dedicated and present at work and specifically for you to be dedicated at home. And that is what. You know, again, right now I feel like our feature today is a little bit more targeted for our female loan officers and female real estate agents. This can apply to.

Corrine Bibb [00:18:38]:
To males and men too, working dads, all the things. But it's just something that I feel like it's an open conversation between female leaders. Right. It's something that gets talked about, that, you know, how do we do it? How do you have it all? Is there a way to have it all? I don't know. But just strategies to make it work to the best everybody can each week.

Rachael Tresch [00:19:03]:
Yeah. And I think it is those boundaries. If you have no boundaries, then people are going to take your time left and right, you know, and it's not, it's not a negative thing necessarily to them. They're not trying to suck the life out of you. But if you've open time on your calendar and people are going to book time with you. So it's our job to set those boundaries for ourselves. And maybe, maybe we don't even know what we want those boundaries to be. But starting by again, what are those non negotiables? What are those things that, what are those areas of contention? What are those bewitching hours? You know, maybe it's in the morning when you're getting your kids off to school, or maybe it's when they get home from school, or maybe it's a little bit later at they've got a game that you don't want to miss.

Rachael Tresch [00:19:47]:
Block that time out so that you're not angry with the people you work with or angry with yourself that you're missing out on things. And I guess that is some of the benefits of working from home. But I think it works whether you're, you know, you're driving all day, whether you're, you know, in an office, making that time and setting those boundaries is huge. Rin, I want to talk about creative energy versus burnout energy because I think that's a real thing. I think it goes hand in hand with what we've been talking about and the difference between creating from inspiration and creating from exhaustion. You know, making sure that, that you reignite that spark when you do feel drained. And maybe not even getting to that point of feeling drained like we always have demands that are going to be put on us. There's, there's, especially in our position, we're dealing with a lot of people and serving a lot of people.

Rachael Tresch [00:20:48]:
Any kind of sales position, you're, you're having to serve a lot of people. How do you not get to a point where you are absolutely drained but still having to give.

Corrine Bibb [00:20:59]:
Right.

Rachael Tresch [00:20:59]:
You, making sure that you're pouring into other people. But how do you make sure that you are being poured into, I guess is the question.

Corrine Bibb [00:21:09]:
I, I kind of felt like I knew where you were going with that until the end, but I 1 thought that came to my mind. What I find challenging and again, this, this varies from profession to profession, but you can find different ways in which it applies to different things that are important about your career during your day. Right. So for us personally being in a marketing, leading marketing department, I find it difficult sometimes to be in a highly creative session where maybe we're analyzing brand voice and brand recognition like we did in that meeting earlier this week. Rachel. And we're being creative in looking at graphics and art And. And then jumping into a CRM data meeting where we're looking at data and how to organize it in the new CRM and implementation hiccups and obstacles. It's.

Corrine Bibb [00:22:03]:
One is kind of putting me into a more technical and tactical space of how do we get this larger project done efficiently, right. To make the most amount of our loan officers happy with how this system is set up. The other is putting me in this total creative space where I'm trying to, you know, get outside the box, come up with different ideas. I think it's, again, you know, it's not to beat a dead horse, but it's kind of figuring out, you know, your week and how to take spaces and breaks in between. I need breaks from being on stage right now. You and I are on stage. I need breaks from being on stage to recharge, to get back on stage. Right.

Corrine Bibb [00:22:45]:
So couple different pieces there that might be helpful. And it's kind of sectioning meetings like that. So I know if I'm jumping around like that, maybe there's space in between to reset. You know, kind of like the sorbet of the dinner, right? You have to reset before the next item comes out to eat, right? Well, you have to reset your brain when you're moving from a meeting to meeting scenario like that in which you might be looked at to bring a different level of value. Right. For you guys, it might be you're on customer meetings, then you're working with your back room, you're working with your operations department, and then you're out at a coffee appointment with a realtor and you're on. Maybe it's different headspaces there. And that would be a way to kind of shift it into loan officer real estate world of, you know, how you execute and deal with that.

Corrine Bibb [00:23:39]:
I think there has to be time blocks in between to reset, personally. But again, I want to hear what you guys think. What are your approaches? What are your ideas? Because we all learn from each other, right, Rach?

Rachael Tresch [00:23:51]:
Absolutely. Yeah. And I think recognizing when you need that proverbial sorbet to cleanse your palate, I think that's really smart. And just recognizing when you need a rest because that burnout energy, that is a really hard place to. To recover from. You know, if. If every Friday you are just beaten down and you are just dead and you. You need to sleep the weekend, and you need to take the weekend to just recover, then we're not giving our families the best part of us.

Rachael Tresch [00:24:26]:
You're not taking that weekend for enjoyment, for Yourself. So. So not getting to that point to begin with, some other creative ways that, you know, I think for me, it's. It's through music. Not even. I mean, I love to play music, you know, like singing and writing and doing. Having that creative outlet. But even just being in the car by myself and listening to the music I want to listen to is such a.

Rachael Tresch [00:24:52]:
A moment of taking that breath. That's huge. Getting out and taking a walk, journaling, you know, anything that you can do to just kind of take that. That brain break. Remember, our kids were during COVID Right. But I remember when they were learning online, the teacher would put in brain breaks. And I think as adults, we need that too.

Corrine Bibb [00:25:14]:
We do. I like a lot of those strategies and ideas.

Rachael Tresch [00:25:18]:
Yeah. Well, as we wrap up, I. I just wanted to kind of get into the idea of gratitude and grace, because I think that is something that can't be overlooked. You know, making sure that you're having gratitude throughout your day and giving yourself grace for those moments that you do fall short, and giving that gratitude and grace to other people, too. Extending that not just to yourself, but extending that outwardly will help your outlook as well. And especially as we go into the chaos and the joy of the holiday season. Well, my friend, I'm grateful for you and the way that we work together and just everything that you bring to the table. As a leader, I feel like, you know, it's all about iron sharpens iron, and the people that you are around.

Rachael Tresch [00:26:02]:
You are the sum of the people that you spend the most time with. So I'm glad to say that you are probably one of the people that I spend the most time with, but not even in the same room.

Corrine Bibb [00:26:13]:
We have. We have a lot of fun. We have a lot of fun people. Rach and Rin have a lot of fun. Hey, guys, we appreciate it. Listen, we want to hear your comments, your thoughts on today's episode, any ideas that you have off of any topic or subject that we get on, Please, like, follow, subscribe, and share. And we can't wait to see you on the next Creative Brief. Blending leadership.