Agents are always looking for ways to be more productive, and we have three easy, straightforward approaches towards achieving just that.

Productivity is one of those golden words in today’s business climate, a concept that just about everyone agrees upon. By increasing one’s productivity, and streamlining the respective elements of one’s business, agents will not only increase their income, but also their overall enjoyment and satisfaction with their job.

Now, though, comes the tricky part – how can one go about actually doing that? Thankfully, there are many simple, straightforward strategies agents can utilize to increase their productivity, and writer Tim Ferriss recently highlighted three such strategies in Inc. magazine.

1. High Sugar Levels – We all know that adequate rest is a central tenet to any business, but so is one’s chemistry. After all, Ferriss writes, if you have low blood sugar, there’s a good chance you’ll still wake up in the morning feeling tired and groggy. Therefore, Ferriss recommends consuming a tablespoon or two of unsweetened almond butter (or a similar food item) before going to sleep to stabilize your blood sugar levels and wake up ready, alert and prepared.

2. Reading Smarter – Real estate agents spend quite a bit of time reading. From contracts, to listing descriptions, to marketing copy, there is never a shortage of words for agents to read; however, if you’re not reading those words in an effective way, it can suck up huge portions of your day. So with that in mind, try using your peripheral vision more when reading, meaning, rather than fixating on the first word in this sentence (the “So”), instead start with the phrase “that in mind,” and use your peripherals to catch the beginnings and ends of the sentence. As Ferriss puts it, “You still see the edges of the text, but you’ve eliminated the margins.”

3. Organize Your Email – Finally, we’ve arrived at email, perhaps the biggest productivity killer in business today. Thankfully, there are ways to get a handle on your inbox and respond to emails in an organized, fluid manner that increases your productivity and frees up time for other projects. One of the most innovative ways is through Boomerang, an extension for Gmail that allows you to not only schedule emails, but also to tag specific emails to “boomerang” later, meaning they will appear at the top of your inbox if they receive no response; and how useful would that be?!