Believe it or not, we’re through yet another month in 2020. The days have been flying by like my spaceship pulling warp speed through your Milky Way. Likewise, the mortgage and housing markets are continuing at an equally rapid pace. With rates still so low, this trend is continuing as we prepare to speed through another month.
Looking at the calendar, I noticed something different from the previous month—something called Labor Day is coming up in just a few days. My first thought was, why on Earth (literally, only on Earth!) would there be a day to focus on labor?! Aren’t we already working hard enough?
I was quickly corrected by my colleagues who informed me that Labor Day is actually a celebration of our hard work and all that we’ve achieved. THAT makes perfect sense and inspired me to pull together this post. The Earth adage, “Work smarter, not harder,” immediately came to mind.
We’ve all been working at light speed to help more members with home ownership as well as assisting members directly affected by COVID-19 in keeping their homes. But, are we doing it as efficiently as possible? My guess is probably not, because true efficiency is always put in jeopardy when working at a frantic rate. How can we be more efficient, help more members and still get the peace of mind we need?
The first thing that comes to mind is technology. I’m surrounded by it in my spaceship—without it, my eyestalks would be twitching so badly they’d end up in a knot! At myCUmortgage, we have some great technological tools designed specifically to help our partner credit unions efficiently help members. For example, we offer partners the following:
- Marketing Portal: This is one of my favorites because we space creatures LOVE portals of any kind! I talked a little about our Marketing Portal in my previous post, Keeping the Plates Balanced and Spinning, so I won’t go into the details. Simply put, if you want to market to your members on a variety of mortgage topics but don’t have a great deal of time or expertise on hand, the Marketing Portal can help.
- TBD Email Campaign: A real time consumer for credit union mortgage operations is the volume of TBD (meaning the home address is To Be Determined) loan applications. These are members looking for your help, so you don’t want to lose them. The TBD automated email campaign keeps you in front of your members and helps them along their road to home ownership.
- Realtor Status Updates: Realtors are just as excited to do all they can to help their clients—your members—with home ownership. But let’s face it—they want to know what’s going on with the loan and you don’t have the time to be constantly updating them on every step of the process. Much like the TBD campaign, Realtor Status Updates automatically send emails to the Realtors when milestones are crossed in the loan process or when additional information may be needed.
I could go on and on about the tech tools we offer, but that’s just one part of the labor efficiency equation. While these tools help, you need to maximize your efficiency through best work practices. Of course, everyone has their own best way to work efficiently, so always do what you feel fits your style. However, if you want to improve on that, consider the following tips that I recently found on Quora:
- Your Environment: Turn off all distractions and focus on the task at hand. For example, put your phone on Do Not Disturb; turn off email alerts and close browser windows not related to the task; book yourself some time on your own calendar; and turn off chats and texting.
- Your Body and Mind: This has become ultra-important in this age of working from home. Be sure to take regular breaks (in fact, schedule them on your calendar); stay hydrated and eat well; and work some cardio into your routine. Also, avoid procrastination and setting unattainable goals. Make a daily task list and take on your least favorite task first.
- Your Process: Make sure the plan, expectations and timelines are set for each project; don’t hesitate to work with colleagues as a “team” on tasks; commit to deadlines; and take time at the end of the day to reflect on your accomplishments, which helps set the stage for your next day.
Finally, I want each and every one of you to embrace what Labor Day delivers to (hopefully) all of us: a day off! I like to peruse social media when I’m relaxing, and today, I saw a post emphasizing the importance of relaxation. Some of the tips included:
- Get off the computer
- Read a book or magazine
- Take some quiet time—maybe even meditate
- Write in your journal
- Go to bed early
I know it’s easy to talk about all of these things, but this Labor Day, make a commitment to act on these recommendations. The payoff will not only bring you greater efficiency and personal balance; it will also help you help more members with home ownership. And in the end, that’s what it’s all about.