Wisconsin 9-11-17 by Top Agent Magazine

WISCONSIN EDITION

Top Agent Tips and Questions for CHOOSING YOUR LISTING AGENT

How to RECOGNIZE TRUE LUXURY PROPERTIES Drip those ONLINE LISTING LEADS 4 Reasons Why MULTITASKING CAN ACTUALLY DERAIL YOUR DAY

FEATURED AGENT

PEGGY ADAMS COVER STORY

SVETLANA FOLEY

WISCONSIN EDITION

PEGGY ADA

She’s a millennial, born and Madison, and one of the fe here with a real estate degre Adams made her dream co and now she helps others theirs—particularly first-tim buyers. Open, honest a Peggy takes personal respo for her clients’ success.

SVETLANA FOLEY

PEGGY ADAMS

“Consumer education is so significant,” she says. “My br a consumer rights attorney, and when she went into rea that became her pride. She got me into it once I noticed th education buyers and sellers generally have about how the CONTENTS transpires. It’s really important to me to let folks know w may not want that Realtor whose number is on the sign to DRIP THOSE ONLINE sell 18) them that house.”

4) TOP AGENT TIPS AND QUESTIONS FOR CHOOSING YOUR LISTING AGENT 13) HOW TO RECOGNIZE TRUE LUXURY PROPERTIES

LISTING LEADS

Growing up, all Peggy knew was rentals—her parents h owned a home. When it came time for her to go to col 22) 4 REASONS WHY pondered which direction to go. “I wanted a better fu MULTITASKING CAN myself,” she says. “I wanted to aim for something we hadn our ACTUALLY family.” She graduated in 2008 with a degree in real e DERAIL YOUR a certificate in property management, and earned her re DAY license soon after.

SVETLANA FOLEY

Peggy now serves clients in Madison and surrounding are half her business comes from referrals. She makes a poin ing in touch with past clients, both as Facebook friends Phone 888-461-3930 | Fax 310-751-7068 to face, at parties and festivals. “In the Williamson neigh mag@topagentmagazine.com | www.topagentmagazine.com where our office is located,” she says, “we have festivals outwithout the summer. Solidarity Realty sponsors No portion of this issue may be reproduced in any manner whatsoever prior consent of the publisher. Top sometimes Agent Magazine is published by Feature Publications GA, Inc. Although precautions areall taken to ensure theEverybody accuracy of published we invite our clients. knows each other an materials, Top Agent Magazine cannot be held responsible for opinions expressed facts supplied its aauthors. peaceful andor drama free. by It’s step away from current ev To subscribe or change address, send inquiry to mag@topagentmagazine.com. Published in the U.S.

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Top Agent Tips and Questions for Choosing Your Listing Agent Now that you’ve decided to sell, it’s time to select the professional to help you market your property. Before meeting with agents, however, consider Top Agent Magazine’s tips for preparing yourself. Frist, ask yourself what kind of relationship you’d like to have with your listing agent. Are you seeking a casual, personable relationship and the latest marketing tools or are you interested in a more formal, traditional relationship and approach to marketing techniques? Next, populate your list of agents by attending open houses and asking for recommendations from recent buyers and sellers. Finally, schedule your meetings at your home, where you’ll be able to gauge the chemistry between you and each agent. During your meetings, expect any Top Agent to ask you several questions, but also consider discussing the following: 4

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Will you please describe your sales experience and local network?

Ask your Top Agent to describe recent listings and sales of homes comparable to your own. Ask about the sellers’ priorities, the original list price, market time and number of offers. Top Agents will also describe how well they are connected with other REALTORS® in the region as well as their contacts with relocation companies, local corporations and chambers of commerce. Be sure to ask about each agent’s knowledge of how your market has changed over time and what has influenced change.

You’ll learn a lot by listening to agents’ opinions.

How will you market the property? Each

Top Agent has a unique set of online or local marketing tools at his or her disposal. Some use lead-generation applications and nearly ever luxury agent take advantage of video. Even video marketing tools vary from agent-to-agent, however. You’ll get to decide if you prefer an agent with higher-end video production and 3D Matterport tours or an agent with more intimate techniques featuring walk-and-talk style video tours. What factors influence your list-price recommendation? Before an-

swering this question, most Top Agents will have several questions for you, including whether you’re more focused on a faster sale or a higher list price. They’ll also educate you on how best to balance both market time and list price relative to sales histories your area. Now that you’ve seen the home, what repairs or improvements do you recommend before listing? You’ll learn a lot by listening to agents’

opinions on your home’s sale potential with or without some improvements. Most Top Agents will also recommend a full professional inspection prior to listing to avoid surprises during buyer inspection.

How will you help with staging? Some Top Agents will pay for part or

all of the staging costs. At a minimum, however, a Top Agent will have a staging professional or two in their partner network. While they’re at it, they may provide referrals for carpet cleaning, painting, gardening and other minor finishing touches. Top Agent Magazine

What attributes of the property will you want to highlight? Each Top

Agent will have a somewhat different answer to this question, but that’s a good thing! Even if you have your own ideas about your home’s greatest attributes, you’ll glean insight into the current market by considering different agents’ opinions. In learning their views, you may even change your mind about your home’s most marketable features!

What is your approach to Open Houses? How many agent-only Open

Houses will your Top Agent want to host? How many truly Open Houses? Some Top Agents may even reveal a “swankier” approach to the Open House – such as an evening cocktail party or by-invitation “open” hours to which buyers visit along with the agent representing them.

Who will be our primary point(s) of contact from your office? This

important question will help you understand the scope of your agent’s practice. You’ll get to see if your agent runs a robust team with many hands on deck or if he or she works by close, one-on-one contact with each client. Either approach is wonderful; you get to decide what suits you. Now, let’s list! 6

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SVETLANA FOLEY 7

SVETLANA FOLEY Svetlana Foley began her work in real estate as a property manager. She loved the work, but wanted more opportunity to expand her career, so she decided to obtain her real estate license. “It sounded like something that would be a very good match for me. I’m great with people. I love challenges! In real estate, every single transaction is something completely new. You never run out of things to learn,” Svetlana says with a smile. So three years ago she began work as an agent 8Copyright Top Agent Magazine

and she’s had a thriving business ever since, serving a four county area in Wisconsin that includes Waukesha, Milwaukee, Racine, and Ozaukee counties. Independently driven, Svetlana has a constant hunger for knowledge and a passion for keeping up with the evolving real estate industry and the areas she serves. She has a background in data analysis and she puts that expertise to work on multiple levels for her Top Agent Magazine

“My clients are always my priority. I’m completely dedicated to meeting my legal and ethical obligation of working for my client and producing the best result possible. Negotiation is my strong point.” clients. “My clients are always my priority,” she says. “I’m completely dedicated to meeting my legal and ethical obligation of working for my client and producing the best result possible. Negotiation is my Top Agent Magazine

strong point.” She works with a wide variety of people and finds the diversity very satisfying. Whether a client is coming back after a job loss and trying to find a modest house they can call their own, or Copyright Top Agent Magazine9

is searching for a luxury property or dream home, Svetlana gives them her best. She also works with investors, helping them to find high quality investment properties; or select commercial and leasing properties. “I find it tremendously satisfying to do so many different types of transactions and help such an array of different kinds of people in different circumstances,” Svetlana explains. Though she’s still a relatively new agent, the majority of her business already comes from repeat and referral clients. “People are so satisfied with my services that they keep referring me to their friends and family,” she says. Greg Hague, the most recommended real estate expert on LinkedIn, who has been featured in Forbes, U.S. News, The Wall Street Journal and NPR has the following to say about Svetlana: “If you are considering selling your home, Svetlana is your dream agent. After 35+ years in real estate, I believe I have become quite capable of recognizing professional, dedicated, class act Realtors. Svetlana Foley has all those qualities... and much more. If you are thinking about selling your home, don’t do me a favor, don’t do Svetlana a favor, do yourself a lifetime favor by retaining Svetlana to get the job done.” To market listings, Svetlana hires a high quality professional photographer for each listing and works closely with her clients to educate them about how to prepare their homes for sale. She also brings in a stager for a consultation. “It’s good to have a professional opinion as to what we can do to make each house pop and look its absolute best,” she says. Before she even lists the Copyright Top Agent Magazine 10

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“I find it tremendously satisfying to do so many different types of transactions and help such an array of different kinds of people in different circumstances,” property on the MLS, she creates a thorough, 60-point marketing plan based on research, data and current trends that involves marketing to realtors, potential buyers, and open houses, among other professional tools. She also creates a target buyer profile, which can be helpful in honing in on a buyer. Top Agent Magazine

To give back to her community, Svetlana is very involved in her local real estate organization. It’s important to her to know other brokers and work with them daily to benefit all of their clients. She’s also active in food drives and other charity events. She’s particularly passionate about providing healthy Copyright Top Agent Magazine 11

meals to underprivileged community members. The mother of three teenagers, she spends a lot of time volunteering at their schools and driving them to their many activities, including soccer, music, writing, and theater. For the

future, she’d love to expand her team and hire a buyer’s agent as well as an admin position to support her with her transactions. With her dedication to her clients and her business expertise, she’s sure to succeed!

To find out more about Svetlana Foley, contact her via email at sfoley@shorewest.com or by phone at 414-241-6313. You can also check out her website at svetlana.shorewest.com www.

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How to Recognize True Luxury Properties What to Consider Other Than Location When luxury home buyers are looking for a new abode, they are often advised to pay most of their attention to location, location, location. And it’s true that good locations often have better properties, but if you’re only looking at location then you might be forgetting what it is in a luxury property that makes it luxury. You could view a property in a great location, and because you completely ignored any of the other factors that make a property high end, you might find that once you move in, you aren’t as pleased with the actual house itself as you thought you would be. Here are the other things you should look out for when purchasing a luxury home: • Architectural Uniqueness: The simple fact is that good

architecture retains its value. Do your homework on architects and find the ones that have a good track record of designing beautiful, but practical homes. Don’t simply pay attention to how the building looks today. Consider how it will look in a few decades. Keep an eye out for the “bones” of the building, and decide whether they will stand the test of time or not. Things such as a solid foundation, high-grade materials, unusual details, and artistic components are good aspects to consider. Will the structure hold up well or will it degrade and crumble without constant upkeep? That funky molding may look artistic today, but in ten years will it be considered artistic or just plain weird?

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• Practical Layout: Make sure you have enough room to live

in comfort. As a buyer of luxury property, you probably have quite a busy social schedule. You want to make sure that the layout will lend itself to helping you maintain clear separation between your social areas and private ones. You don’t want guests having to go back into your bedroom to use the bathroom. Look out for places with stairwells, awkward columns, long hallways, and other wastes of space.

• Unobstructed Views and Light: You want to live in

a home that gives you lots of natural light, such as one that is open to the outdoors. That natural light will improve your mood, as well as the resale value. The openness of a space filled with natural light will make you feel more comfortable and happy in your new home. What about the view? Do you see a Do you park, a bridge, a river, or a skyline? Is the see a park, fantastic view out your window protected? a bridge, You’ll need to understand the surrounding air a river, or a rights and zoning allowances of neighboring buildings to understand the possible risks. skyline?

• Windows: Windows are the primary source of losing heat and

cooling. Make sure they are double-paned with good insulation that will protect your home against weather and noise. Unless the windows are already like this, it is unlikely that the condo or co-op board will allow you to install your own.

• Ceiling Height: Consider the cubic footage of the property.

You want to look for high ceilings that increase the openness of a room. Of course, you don’t want to go too high. Above 14 feet will get you diminished marginal returns.

• Storage: If you’re a woman, you will understand this one. We need

lots of closets and additional storage room to fit all of our clothes, shoes, jackets, hats, purses, etc. However, lucky for you, your potential home’s existing closet square footage will not limit you from putting in more storage space. Custom closet companies can create any kind of storage

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space you desire. You will have to, however, make sure that your new home does have an area that you can turn into this storage space. • In-Unit Laundry: In-unit laundry has become necessary for

any luxury home or apartment. Do you really want to have to trek down flights of stairs to use the basement laundry? If you still consider it wasted space, you can convert it into more closet space.

• The Gym: Having a fitness area nearby is an amenity that is especially

important, particularly in winter when you don’t feel like walking to the gym a few blocks down. One thing to consider is the Do you really want of the gym in relation to have to trek down size to the size of the building in flights of stairs? light of common area fees. • Move-In Ready: I’d advise against buying time-consuming and

frustrating fixer-uppers no matter how much you want to add custom kitchens, finishes, fixtures, and other characteristics. Choose a property that already has all of these amenities taken care of. These properties have already had the same designers you would hire fashion the house at a fraction of the cost you would pay to have them do it after you move in. In this light, it is worthwhile to pay a little extra for the move-in ready home.

• Reputation: Pay attention to the reputation of the building. A

property that has a good reputation tends to retain its value. You can easily find this out online on posts, and established locals are likely to have an opinion.

If you want to buy luxury property that is really worth it’s price, then I would suggest adding these points to your list of things your new home must have. If you want to get a high quality home that is a true luxury, you’ll want to watch out for these aspects as well as the location. Some properties might claim to be luxury based on their location, but when compared against this list, they don’t make the cut. So, don’t be fooled by imposters, and make sure you find a true high-end property. Top Agent Magazine

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PEGGY ADAMS She’s a millennial, born and raised in Madison, and one of the few agents here with a real estate degree. Peggy Adams made her dream come true, and now she helps others achieve theirs—particularly first-time home buyers. Open, honest and real, Peggy takes personal responsibility for her clients’ success.

Peggy is hands-on when it comes to listings. She’ll clean and stage the home herself or call a company to do it, depending on the property. And if someone needs a little extra help decluttering, she has no problem removing a few loads. After the house is photographed, advertising is the name of the game. Again depending on the listing, she might advertise it on TV. All her listings are posted on Facebook, on the company website, and in their storefront window (“an amazing form of advertising,” Peggy notes), although word of mouth is her best source.

“Consumer education is so significant,” she says. “My broker was a consumer rights attorney, and when she went into real estate, that became her pride. She got me into it once I noticed the lack of education buyers and sellers generally have about how the process transpires. It’s really important to me to let folks know why they may not want that Realtor whose number is on the sign to actually sell them that house.”

What clients remember most about Peggy is how knowledgeable and readily available she is. Whether they call at 8 a.m. or at midnight, she’s there for them, making the process seamless. And Peggy loves it. She loves the people she meets and the smiles she sees when their dreams come true. “It’s over-the-top exciting,” she says. Freedom and flexibility are big draws for her too, since she has a toddler and often works from home.

Growing up, all Peggy knew was rentals—her parents had never owned a home. When it came time for her to go to college, she pondered which direction to go. “I wanted a better future for myself,” she says. “I wanted to aim for something we hadn’t had in our family.” She graduated in 2008 with a degree in real estate and a certificate in property management, and earned her real estate license soon after.

She also loves giving back, by educating buyers, sellers and renters and supporting various charities in the community. She consistently gives to the Wil-Mar Neighborhood Center and Goodman Community Center, which help children, the poor, food pantries, securing employment, housing and more; and to East High School Sports.

Peggy now serves clients in Madison and surrounding areas. Fully half her business comes from referrals. She makes a point of staying in touch with past clients, both as Facebook friends and face to face, at parties and festivals. “In the Williamson neighborhood where our office is located,” she says, “we have festivals throughout the summer. Solidarity Realty sometimes sponsors them, so we invite all our clients. Everybody knows each other and it’s so peaceful and drama free. It’s a step away from current events.”

When Peggy has a moment for herself, she loves to travel, camp out at all the Wisconsin lakes and parks, and listen to music— especially live bands at the local festivals. As Peggy looks forward, she’ll continue on her chosen path, growing every year and expanding her knowledge base. She’s also considering owning an income property (with the stress that entails). Meanwhile, she prides herself on making a difference in people’s lives and being the best Realtor she can be.

For more information about Peggy Adams of Solidarity Realty LLC, Madison, WI, please visit solidarityrealty.com, call 608 - 206 - 2106 or email peggy@solidarityrealty.com www.

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Drip Those Online Listing Leads By Walter Sanford

My coaching clients are beginning to find more success with their online listing leads. Whether the lead is coming from postcard-generated invites to complete forms on their site or third-party consolidator leads, the web leads are coming in. The problem with a lot of these leads is bad phone numbers but good email addresses. The question is - how do we engage them in a conversation that leads to a listing appointment? Uncovering the seller’s needs prior to an appointment is always the first step in creating client satisfaction, but it’s very difficult to do without good contact information. By showing these potential sellers value, my clients have found that many sellers who wanted to remain anonymous are now holding up their hands and shouting “I want some of that!” The drip system that creates this kind of excitement is one that’s immediately started after the lead is received. The system shows the value that you can bring to their discovery process. Every three or four days, send an email that lets them know that there is so much more that a top, local, professional agent can add to their search. With my clients, we only give a little bit of information at a time. Usually within a few weeks, we have the serious leads contacting the agent for an over-the-phone consultation. Below are some of the points that we stress in our drip system email campaign for online listing leads: 18

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Week One: Thank you for contacting us for more information regarding the sale of your property. I hope the information we have already provided was of some help to you. We believe that a real estate relationship should be based on the client’s needs. Once we know those needs, we have some very unique solutions that our past sellers have mentioned were available nowhere else. Please give us a call so we can supply some unique answers to unique challenges. Week Two: In our earlier email, we talked about unique solutions. One of the unique solutions we provide our sellers is a pre-listing consultation. Go to www.(yoursite).com/prelistingconsultation to answer a few questions and schedule a phone call that’s convenient for you. This will allow our team to be better prepared to give you some insights regarding what to expect in this market. Week Three: In continuing our theme of delivering value to our potential sellers, one of the most appreciated value propositions that we give our potential sellers is our “seller education system.” If you call us, we can program a search for brand new listings each morning. The search will include specs that compare to your home and the results will be emailed directly to you. This provides you with brand new listings that would be competing with your home, if it was on the market. This makes you the most educated seller in town knowing what the competition is. You’ll receive these new listings at the same time agents in (your town) receive them! Week Four: Occasionally, we have a seller who isn’t interested in considering a sale unless he/she knows the value first. We came up with a solution that eliminates a lengthy listing presentation. We call this our free 48-hour phone value analysis. Go to www.(yoursite).com/valueanalysis. Complete the form and within 48 hours, one of our team members will call you. Based upon the same comparables that appraisers would use, we will let you know the value of your home. This is a fast and inexpensive way to bridge the gap of an expensive appraisal or a time-consuming listing presentation with a service that can be just as accurate. There is no charge for this service, and we are happy to put the numbers together for you! Top Agent Magazine

Week Five: One of the services that our sellers most appreciate is our “meet the team” concept. You can go to our website or call us directly for the contact information on a trusted team member for almost any service. We know the best plumbers, HVAC techs, electricians, roofers, landscapers, painters, carpenters, and carpet installers in the area. We use them on our own homes, we trust them, and we have long business relationships with them. If you need anything done around your home to prepare for a potential sale or if you just want to get it ready for a special occasion, we know who does the job well here in (your town). Week Six: Our sellers get higher prices because we make their homes desirable to buyers! We call this service our “primp and polish” service. Any consultation is free! We can provide you some simple tips to make your home more inviting to buyers. We will point out any potential red flags and help you place furniture to get things ready to create that emotional pull. We have professional decorators on call. Their services cost money, but we have found their service is a good investment based on the additional monies that we receive for our client’s properties. The initial consultation is free! Please give us a call so we can set this up for you. Week Seven: Did you know that our company has access to a majority of the top real estate agents in any city in the world? If you are considering selling your home here and buying out of town--we can send you to top agents who understand your needs. Top agents know they can’t solve client’s challenges without first knowing what those challenges are. If you want a special house out of town, then give us a call. We know agents who will not only show you standard MLS properties but also properties that are not yet on the market. We call these “secret properties.” These secret properties can be owned by past clients who might consider selling or sellers developed from a postcard mailing campaign in your neighborhood of interest. These agents know many ways to find property that other agents will not show you. We find this service to be one of the best that we provide for our buyers so we wanted to make sure that you get the same service when you move. 20

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Week Eight: If you’re not quite ready to list your property, we have a system called “sell the sizzle before the steak.” I know it sounds a little corny, but we can discretely present that your home might be available to our database of buyers. This helps us to do a little pre-marketing prior to a full commitment of our complete marketing plan. If you are interested in this service, please don’t hesitate to give us a call. Week Nine: Did you know that we have a policy where no real estate agent will be allowed to negotiate with you in person? We do this because many times real estate agents can be very forceful in the presentation of offers from their clients. We ask for that offer to be presented to us, and we will spend as much time as you need with just us - your representatives. This eliminates awkward meetings where you need more time to think, and the buyer’s agent is pushing for an answer. We believe that selling a home should not only be massively profitable but also fun. If you’d like more ideas on how we differ from the competition, email or call me at your convenience. All contacts will be kept confidential. Well, I hope you get the idea that we’re trying to start a conversation with that potential seller instead of letting them fall through the cracks. A drip email campaign for a seller is similar to the campaign for buyers. It’s necessary for listing leads since the majority of information requests come via the web with incorrect or inoperable phone numbers. The only way to get these leads talking is to present them better value than everyone else. Copyright©, 2015 Walter Sanford. All rights reserved.

Walter Sanford has been designing and implementing real estate systems for 30 years. One of the most successful REALTORS® and now wealthy from his systems, Sanford teaches his systems and strategies through his products, seminars, and personal coaching producing the best results in the industry. Do what works, do what is proven. Hire Walter Sanford. Call our office at 800.792.5837, email walter@waltersanford.com, or chat with us online at www.waltersanford.com. Top Agent Magazine

4 Reasons Why Multitasking Can Actually Derail Your Day Common wisdom dictates that a master multitasker is likely to garner the most success. After all, doesn’t juggling multiple projects at once mean you’ll work faster than if you took each one as it came? While multitasking is often cited as a desirable skill—and surely serves its purpose now and again—studies show that a mere 2% of individuals can actually multitask effectively. Meanwhile, the remaining 98% might be doing more harm than good by trying 22

to tackle too much at once. Take a look below at some little-known facts about the risky side of waging a routine built on multitasking.

1. Multitasking decreases productivity While multitasking gives us the illusion of completing two tasks at once, it actually means

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our focus and productivity is split. In other words, switching back and forth between two activities doesn’t mean they’ll each be completed sooner; it means that you’re getting half-as-much complete as you would if you focused on a singular task. Multitasking fatigues your brain, elicits stress, and make you less efficient in retaining new information.

2. Multitasking is actually addictive While watching TV or taking a walk, have you ever noticed the impulse to check your smartphone or scroll through your social media feed? Even though we think about multitasking as a workplace skill, it’s also an addictive form of mental stimulation. By satiating our need for distraction with constant check-ins online, we become accustomed to frequent breaks in our focus, training us to crave updates, messages, and push notifications—we even hit refresh when we’ve checked in five minutes prior! This negative habit-building makes it difficult to complete sustained bouts of concentration.

3. Multitasking has negative physical side effects Studies show that those who juggle multiple focus-intensive activities actually show spikes in cortisol, a stress hormone. Likewise, frequent multitaskers display symptoms of sleep deprivation: fatigue, disorientation, and lack of focus. Studies in Europe have recently Top Agent Magazine

discovered that those who consistently multitask may actually show decreases in empathy and emotional control. What’s more, a constant sense of anticipation—readying to switch from one task to another, or persistently checking for e-mail updates—can potentially cause a decrease in overall IQ.

4. Multitasking breeds mistakes When our attention is split between tasks, it’s difficult to perceive and retain detail-oriented information. Because of this, mistakes—typos, clerical errors, mislabeled documents, and the like—occur with greater frequency. We’re in such a hurry to complete a portion of a task and switch to the next project that we lose sight of prompts, deadlines, and tying up loose ends. This means multitaskers are far more likely to overlook a glaring error than an individual who is devoting 100% of their attention to the task at hand. Now that we understand some of the dangers of multitasking, what can we do about it? While our tech-driven day-to-day might make focusing on a singular task a difficult endeavor, it’s the surest way to produce efficient, error-free work—while cutting down on stress, fatigue, and miscommunication. Try approaching your tasks for the day with a clear-cut schedule, moving one task at a time down your to-do list. This approach can eliminate some of the inefficiency inherent in multitasking and make for your most productive work routine yet.

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