Peter Lohmann's Newsletter - Tuesday Edition #3

Welcome to Issue #3 of the Tuesday Edition! Not interested? Click here to opt out (you’ll still receive the Friday editions).

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Using Structure + Tech to Streamline My Week

This article is going to be a bit of a productivity grab-bag.

I’m busier than I can ever remember being, managing 3 active companies and 2 even more active kids. Around the beginning of last year, I realized I needed to invest in some technology, infrastructure, and systems to help reduce the chaos level a bit. I’ll share what I’ve tried and how well it worked, with an emphasis on home life.

• Skylight Calendar (pictured above). I mounted this vertically in our kitchen after adding this recessed outlet right behind it (so no cord hanging down). It displays the family calendars, chore lists, photos, and more. Has been a game-changer. My 8yo loves to see what’s on the schedule for the week. BTW if you and your spouse haven’t created a “Kids” shared Google calendar, that’s a great hack. Include all their school stuff/closings, sports, sitters & nanny schedules, etc. No need to “invite” each of you; it’s all right there.

• Motion-sensor light switches. I was tired of policing lights left on all over our house (plus, those LED bulbs aren’t cheap to replace and go bad surprisingly often). I’ve slowly swapped in these Lutron Maestro motion sensor switches in various places around our house, mostly closets and utility areas. Easy to install and seems to work very well. They’ve really perfected this tech. Bonus: Install these timer switches for your bathroom exhaust fans.

• Default Evenings. Kids thrive on structure, and frankly, my wife and I do as well. Rather than inventing evening plans from scratch every day, we crafted default evening plans and added them to our shared calendar (see above). For example, Sunday is “Board Game Night”, Monday is “Bath & Family Reading Night”, Tuesday is “Pickup & Cleaning”, etc. We even added dinner defaults (Sunday is leftovers, Monday is chicken, Tuesday is pasta, etc.)

• GTD Weekly Review via ChatGPT. I’m a huge proponent of the Getting Things Done system, and a cornerstone of making this work well for you is the weekly review. But even after years of doing them, I need help (more than just a checklist). After some iteration I finally found the best prompt to use with ChatGPT. Tell it (use “Thinking” mode): “I need to do my GTD (getting things done) weekly review. Can you walk me through this step by step? Like, pretend you are David Allen coaching me. Don't give me a list of what to do, just give me an instruction at a time and then wait for me.”

• Outdoor light and indoor lamp automation. In the cold, dark Ohio winter, it’s nice to have your home illuminated well, but it’s honestly a hassle to walk around the house every afternoon turning on all the indoor and outdoor lights, then turning them all off before bed (and actually, I prefer the outdoor lights to stay on long after I’m asleep). Lutron Caseta is the best option here. Their tech predates the “smart home” craze and is therefore rock-solid reliable even if your internet goes down. Install these to replace the switches that control your outdoor lights, and plug your lamps into these. Set up a schedule, and boom, you’re done messing with those lights forever.

PM Company & Vendor Updates

• Property Meld named The Appliance Repair Professionals the top pro of the year from their Vendor Nexus network. We use Appliance Repair Pros at my management company; they are great! Congrats to them.

• Apartments.com announced a new AI-powered voice search.

• Last chance to register for Peter & The Wolf season premiere. Catch us live this Thursday.

Podcast Archives: The “Real Estate God” on Leverage, Delegation, and Owning Fewer (Better) Deals

I pulled this one from DEEP inside the vault, back when my podcast was still called “Owner Occupied.” But it’s still an all-time banger. The Real Estate God (an anonymous Twitter/X account with over 140k followers) drops gems on leverage, delegation, and designing a business around your life - not the other way around. We get into why most GPs stay stuck in the weeds, how to build margin into every deal, and what it really means to own fewer, better assets. We also talk about opportunity cost, mindset, saying no to prestige, and the “yacht theory” of networking. (Season 3, Episode 6)

(Also available on Apple Podcasts or Spotify)

What I’m Reading Right Now…

• Tracy Streich put out a great article for anyone dealing with owner questions about 1099s right now, entitled Why January Rent Collected in December Is Still December Income. Great refresher. Share with your team.

• I enjoyed this write-up by Elijah Linkous about what happened when they turned off the tenant phone line in their property management office. It reminded me of my interview with Donny Thompson, who manages 1900 doors with 10 people (he also doesn’t allow tenants to call the office).

• This thread is where property managers are actively discussing how they’re using OpenClaw at their company [Crane members only].

My Take on This Week’s News

This week: FTC Rental Fees, Rentvine user conference, Florida PM arrested for $600k theft, apartment rent trends, and new Peter & the Wolf LIVE webinars.

NOTE: these news breakdowns are now syndicated to my podcast feed as well. Subscribe for a 7-minute property management news breakdown in your favorite podcast player every Monday.

Affiliate of the week: Notion

I use Notion to organize everything across all my businesses. It’s the “informational glue” that holds our internal systems & processes together. Think of it like a living, searchable wiki for your company. Whether you’re running a property management business or just trying to streamline your life, Notion is the tool I trust. Check it out.

Meme Tuesday:

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The content of this newsletter is for informational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. I may have consulting agreements with, or financial interests in, companies mentioned in this newsletter. Additionally, some of the links included in this newsletter are affiliate links, meaning I may earn a commission if you make a purchase through these links. Always perform your own due diligence before making any financial or business decisions.