We all want to win the lottery.
We all want to have someone take care of that other stuff for us.
We all want our lives to be easier.

Each day we look for the “magic bullet” that will solve all of our problems and help to make things easy. In the world of real estate there are many tools, many companies selling us something — and many distractions. How can we filter through all of that to make our lives easier?

We can turn to those that are one step ahead of us and learn the lesson that nothing comes easy. To make this as easy as possible here is a list of the 5 Tech Tools to Make Your Life Easier:

A powerful IDX. Internet Data Exchange (IDX) is a real estate website that pulls information shared by brokers on the MLS. That makes this a great tool for potential buyers. For all real estate agents this is a must-have tool. With so many people searching online before buying a home, you have to have a site for them to find that has the best possible mouse trap.

A smartphone. It doesn’t matter if this is an iPhone or a Droid (it should be an iPhone) or another smartphone on the market. How can you make your job easy? You have a phone that is your contact management, your GPS, your email, your camera and so much more. Don’t have one? GET ONE!

Smartphone operating systems - image courtesy of author

A social media management dashboard. A what? It sounds like a long title and all that we are talking about is HootSuite or TweetDeck or something else in this family. Stop taking hours to filter through Facebook and Twitter to hear what is being said. Set up your lists so while you might follow many on Twitter you can hear the few you really want to listen to. This will give you a place to tweet from, and follow postings. Still take a moment to visit Facebook for your actual postings as these dashboards will still impact your EdgeRank, no matter what people tell you.

Social Media Dashboard - image courtesy of author

A blogging platform. There are many to choose from. You can go from A to Z — or in this case from ActiveRain to WordPress. Use your blogging platform as a place to build a following, answer questions, provide information and turn yourself into an expert on your topic(s) of choice. Just a hint to keep this part easy: Stop overthinking and just write.

A tablet. Again this doesn’t matter if it is an iPad or another brand of tablet (are there really others?) — just get your hands on one. These will make your life easier in every possible way. You can turn your tablet into your office away from the office with access to your documents, and the ability to have people virtually sign contracts and to search properties on the go. There are so many other apps that you can add to your tablet to make life easier, and there are many blogs on these out there already.

Maybe you won’t win the lottery.
Maybe you won’t have someone else take care of that other stuff for you.
And even though those things don’t happen, that doesn’t mean you can’t make your life easier with a few simple tools.

Win the Lottery - image courtesy of author

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