Most Saturdays I'm working. Showings, listing prep, client calls. That's the job and I love it. But Sundays before noon belong to me, and I've gotten protective of that window.
My thing is walking. Specifically, walking the stretch from the Oceanside Pier south toward Buccaneer Beach, coffee in hand, before the crowds show up. I'm not training for anything. I'm not tracking steps. I just like being outside near the water before the day fills up with notifications.
There's something about that particular stretch around 7:30 a.m. that resets my brain. The surfers are already out. A few runners pass. The Strand is quiet enough that you can hear waves instead of traffic. I've lived and worked in this market long enough to remember when that corridor felt like a different town compared to what's happening now with the new mixed-use builds going in along South Coast Highway.
I think real estate people burn out faster than they admit. The pace is relentless, especially in a market like Oceanside where inventory moves and you can go from zero to five transactions in a month. I've watched agents grind through weekends for years straight and then just disappear from the business. No break, no boundary, no staying power.
My opinion on this (and I'll say it plainly): agents who never step away from the phone don't serve their clients better. They serve them more anxiously. I do sharper work on a Monday when I've had a quiet Sunday morning. My clients get clearer thinking, not just faster replies.
This isn't a wellness lecture. I'm not telling you to meditate or journal. I'm saying that the people you hire to help you buy or sell a home are human, and the good ones know how to stay sharp over the long haul.
So if you ever email me on a Sunday morning (mayra@blacklabelrealty.com), you might not hear back until that afternoon. I'm probably somewhere between the pier and Buccaneer with a coffee that's already getting cold.
What's your version of that? The thing that keeps you from checking your phone for an hour?