Overworked, overstressed, ruined weekends and long working hours all conspire together to make our profession one that severely taxes us mentally and physically – but what can we do about it?

“With today’s technology, it’s easy to be on the clock 24/7 because everything is coming at you instantly and your clients expect that as well,” says Halifax agent Shawn Moore. “But it’s important to let your clients know that you do set aside some hours for family and some hours away from the phone. They need to respect your time as well.”

Moore says taking time off work – or even periodical blackout times, during which you don’t check your phone or email – can help ease the stress of the job and leave you returning to work refreshed.

“[Taking time off] will help, when you walk away and spend some time relaxing and spending time with family,” he says. “That break from the phone will help you serve your clients better.”

Properly managing your time and being organized can also help to reduce the threat of burnout. Moore says agents should consider hiring an assistant – or even sharing an assistant between two or three agents – to relieve some of the day-to-day workload. Alternately, agents can use technology to become more efficient. Moore says there are programs that automatically send requests for feedback to potential buyers, while other tech companies manage your schedule so you don’t have to.

“Letting others share the workload will help you be more efficient,” Moore says. “It will leave you more time to think about how to grow the business.”