[Antonia]
We're now welcoming Nyree Ewings, sales professional with LJ Hooker Cleveland. Welcome, Nyree.
[Nyree]
Thank you so much. Thanks for having me.
[Antonia]
Yeah, thanks for joining us. So what I wanted to do is I want to talk a little bit about your routines and your disciplines. I know that we've talked about the fact that you've now cut caffeine out of your life and limited alcohol. So that's a good starting point. Tell us about that decision.
[Nyree]
Yeah sure. Yeah I went on a retreat about eight months ago and part of the detox was getting off the coffee and off the alcohol as well. So I just sort of kept in with the coffee for quite a while. And, you know, it wasn't really about the coffee or the health benefits or negatives around it, but it was just more of a discipline thing and making sure that I didn't need to wake up to something and just follow a routine. So it was just more about discipline and getting some self control back.
[Antonia]
So is it about the discipline that it gives you or is it that you felt like coffee and alcohol was perhaps playing too much of a role in getting you through the day in the night?
[Nyree]
I think sometimes it's just really socially easy to just have coffees all the time as it is just to come home and pour a wine as well. So yeah, so trying not to drink sort of Monday to Thursday but happy to take we'd have a wine Friday, Saturday, Sunday.
[Antonia]
All in moderation.
[Nyree]
Yeah, definitely. Yeah but sort of limit the alcohol intake during the week, making sure I'm sort of fully present and nice and clear in the head.
[Antonia]
I like that - making sure you're present. So let's talk about again, you have a bit of a routine when you get home at night. It starts in the car, in the driveway. So talk to us a little bit about what that looks like and that ritual - I really like the way you talk about showering away the day. Talk to us about that coming home routine that you roll out.
[Nyree]
I think sometimes it's difficult to have a real end to the day when you're in real estate because it's such a 24/7 thing. So, you know, when I sort of get home at night, spending an extra sort of 5 minutes in the car, just sort of unwinding, even if it's not working, but maybe just reading some news before I sort of get in, which is something that I like to do that relaxes me. I like reading about what's going on when I get the chance. But, but once I come in the house, you know, going upstairs straight away for a shower and just showering off all the energies for the day, you know, you sort of with a lot of people and you're in a lot of homes as well. So just showering off those energies. So just so that I can, again, just be really neutral when I come back downstairs and I'm with my partner and the kids and things like that to sort of start the meal for the night.
[Antonia]
I really like that idea of showering away the day. And I think that's really interesting because you spend so much of your time in other people's houses. That and that brings certain energy - so I like that idea of showering it away and, and I hope you don't mind me bringing up you have a ready made family. You have stepchildren in your life. Tell us a bit about how that has impacted your life, coming home to a much fuller household and of course, all the issues that come with teenage children. I'm very familiar with this.
[Nyree]
Sure, yes. So I managed to skip kids and went straight to teens, but they're actually really good kids. I think that helps a lot. So we've sort of got them week on, week off. And you're right, I mean, the house is really full and it's noisy and it can be messy and all those things as well. But dinner time for me has always been our family time. So making sure that I'm home, they're ready to, you know, not make dinner because I don't cook, but, you know, sit there with everybody to have a meal. And then if I need to, you know, sort of after I've sort of cleaned up everything, then sort of get back to work if necessary. But I think just having that time to sit at the family table and sort of ask them some really good quality questions, sort of about what's happening in their lives and things like that too. But often that sort of still picking them up and dropping them off to work as well in that time as well.
[Antonia]
Yeah and I think - we've talked before about the importance of being present, which can be really challenging. You're there in body, but you're not really listening. You're thinking about that next deal or you're thinking about something related to work. Is that something that you still find challenging or do you feel like you've navigated that successfully?
[Nyree]
You know, it can depend on the market. It can depend on how demanding things are at the time. You know, whether there's more buyer inquiries, more seller inquiries. Obviously we've just been through this pretty intense two year phase now. So I think it can just depend on where things are at. But otherwise I'll just excuse myself into another room and go and sort of get done what I need to get done first. Or if I'm sitting there with a family or spending time together, I'll say to them, I'm waiting on a particular phone call or a particular email, and if I get that, I'm just going to excuse myself.
[Antonia]
And so let's talk now about just very practical techniques that you use. You've mentioned that you do frequent Stephanie's spa at Cleveland.
[Nyree]
I sure do absolutely.
[Antonia]
Is some indulgence part of the way you relax?
I think a little bit of it is like that, sort of whether it's a facial somewhere, whether it's a massage somewhere. Or whether it's like, sort of a more targeted treatment or something like that, but just sort of making it it's making sure you get just that little bit of me time, just that little bit of balance with everything, too. I know obviously a lot of people sort of talk about meditation and all that sort of stuff. I managed to sort of get to yoga once a fortnight and go for a walk with my team. So I take them to yoga and when we go for a walk.
[Antonia]
Oh, nice. Do you take your team to yoga?
[Nyree]
Yeah, just to make sure that they're getting the opportunity to move their bodies as well. It's a great way to have some of those personal conversations outside of the office as well. Yeah sort of head out for breakfast, too, but I'm really big in gratitude as well. So, you know, sort of every night when I put my head on the pillow, sort of whether it's wanting to pray to a God or whether it's the universe or whatever it is for you, just sort of expressing my gratitude and things like that as well for the things that I've got.
[Antonia]
So that's something you do on a daily basis, reflecting on the day and what you feel grateful for?
[Nyree]
Absolutely and at 3:00 in the morning when I can't sleep. Yeah I'm getting cranky about not being able to sleep.
[Antonia]
But that happens right? Waking up in the middle of the night and having those panic moments, albeit that you're a very successful agent.
[Nyree]
Probably not panic ones, I just can't sleep. I reckon 50% of the time I'm up at 3:00 AM. somewhere between 2 and 4 - I'm awake.
[Antonia]
Ok yeah. That's interesting. And I just want to also talk about the role that technology plays in helping you find that balance. I know that you've adopted technology to try and make the role easier. Yeah you're a big believer in things like electronic signatures, getting contracts done online. I know you use other tools as well. How has that played a role in helping you achieve that work life balance?
[Nyree]
It's honestly made a really massive change because, you know, before early on in my career, I'd be racing around till 10 or 11 or even 12 at night, sort of getting signatures, trying to get a decision.
[Antonia]
The face to face contact?
[Nyree]
Well, having to. Because there's no other sort of real means. And not everybody had fax machines at home sort of back then as well, or printers, too. So, I think from the electronic side, it's changed things immensely. And people, especially in the market. We've been through the last two years, which is quite fast paced, and have become more and more used to using electronic means too. So that means being able to actually be at home and operate from there. So whether it is because we use a CRM of Rex in our office, whether it is that I'm doing something like a price change after hours or I'm flicking through photos or changing the order of something, I can access that at home myself, which is awesome. Obviously using real work to type the contract and then secure exchange to send it out via DocuSign as well.
[Antonia]
So you're literally doing the whole thing online?
[Nyree]
Yep!
[Antonia]
I like that. And so just finally to wind up Nyree, I guess for anyone watching this who is finding that work life balance a little bit of a struggle - any final tips that you would offer to someone about just some good ways of getting that balance back into check?
[Nyree]
Yeah, I think it just depends on where they're out of balance. I think sometimes we can be personally out of balance when sometimes the business isn't and sometimes the business can be out of balance. And sometimes it's the small activities that aren't getting done right or efficiently or effectively. You know, I think it's not worrying about what the market's doing. You need to know what the market's doing and you've got to be educated around that. But just understanding that, being fearful of any changes, whether it's positive or negative, any of those things that you're worrying about, it's just not going to change the outcome of.
[Antonia]
Excellent advice. Thanks, Nyree. Thanks for joining us.
[Nyree]
Thanks for having me.
