The real struggle of a part-time search nobody talks about

Honestly, managing a search while working full-time sounds easier than it actually is. In the beginning, you feel like you’ve got it figured out. You’ll send emails before work, take calls in the evening, and maybe spend a few hours on the weekend. And for a bit, it does work. Then work gets busy. Not dramatically. Just… busy enough. You miss a couple of follow-ups. You tell yourself you’ll do it next week. Next week turns into two. And that’s usually when things start slipping. Not because you stopped trying. It’s just that off-market stuff needs momentum. Owners reply late. Conversations move slowly. If you drop the ball even for a short time, everything kind of goes cold without warning. What I’ve noticed is that the people who manage this best aren’t necessarily putting in more hours. They just stop doing everything themselves. They keep the parts that actually need them, like talking to owners and making calls on decisions. And they offload the rest. The research, the lists, the tracking, the follow-ups. Because the real risk with a part-time search isn’t lack of effort. It’s breaking the rhythm. Curious if this resonates. When work gets hectic, what’s the first thing that usually slips in your search?