Have you ever heard the expression “windshield time”? The Urban Dictionary defines windshield time as the amount of time wasted or lost driving from point A to point B during work hours.

If you are like many real estate agents you have a lot of time spent in your car going from place to place either in support of your business or even just on family business…shopping, chauffeuring the kids, or pets and others around town.

But there are those times when you are alone in your car going form place to place.  If you aren’t on your phone prospecting or keeping deals together how are you utilizing that time?

Back in the 80s when I started in real estate, my business found me traveling all over Sonoma County form listing to listing.  I often traveled 45 minutes from my office to one of my listings and I soon tired of listening to the radio!

A friend told me about books on tape.  Specifically he said that I could use that windshield time to listen to things on cassette tape that would help me grow IN my business and also help me grow my business.  In those days before the internet, books on tape were literally just that.  

Back in those pre-internet, iPod and iPhone dark days, those cassette tapes came from Nightengale-Conant, a  company formed by Vic Conant and Earl Nightingale.  They specialized in what we would call self help today. I looked at that material as manna from heaven.  I would pop a tape in the player of my vehicle and hit the road.  

There were a couple of advantages to doing that.  First, I was making the most of these long trips and second I was learning things that advanced my career.

In doing research for this post I discovered that Nightingale-Conant is still in business.  Today they offer CDs or Digital Downloads.  Much of what I listened to 30+ years ago is still available as well as many new authors.  You can find them on line here: https://www.nightingale.com/  Be sure to click on the “Free Resources” tab when you get there and you will find some very useful downloads.

Fast forward through time to today and you will find that there is a TON of real estate related podcasts that you can subscribe to on topics that will advance your career (And many, many, many other topics as well!). A little Google research turned up a couple of “Top Ten” Lists of Podcasts to get you started.

Here is one compiled by BoomTown: https://boomtownroi.com/resource-library/top-real-estate-podcasts-and-other-podcasts/

And here is one compiled by ReminderMedia: https://remindermedia.com/blog/10-real-estate-podcasts-you-need-to-hear-in-2019/

InBound Marketing company HubSpot has compiled this list: https://blog.hubspot.com/sales/real-estate-podcasts

Follow Up Boss has complied this list (which is actually my favorite list as I have personally met three of the podcasters listed here!): https://www.followupboss.com/blog/19-real-estate-podcasts-will-actually-make-productive/

If you are of a “certain age” you probably have no issue with cassette tapes…but what the heck are podcasts and how do I listen to them?  The How-To Geek has a nice guide here that will help you get on board: https://www.howtogeek.com/345845/how-to-get-started-listening-to-podcasts/

So, what are you waiting for?  Go subscribe to a podcast or two and turn that unproductive windshield time in to time spent learning and growing!  You’ll be glad that you did!