How can advisors prioritize a work-life balance when things feel
out of balance? These tips may help you take care of yourself so you can
continue to take care of your clients, business, and staff.
June 1, 2020 By Maria Considine King
Taking
care of advisors from a business standpoint is a given during turbulent times,
but from a
Practice Management support standpoint, it’s equally if not more important to
start a conversation about how they’re holding up. Between the coronavirus,
disrupted routines, and other challenges, we paused to ask “So, how are you
doing?”
A common
theme emerged: advisors wanted more guidance on finding a work-life balance in
this strange new world. With many “normal” activities and ways of living
shifting or disappearing completely, we’ve all been forced to adjust how we
take care of our work and ourselves. Here’s what’s worked for our advisors—we
hope this advice will work for you, too.
Start
with Yourself
When your
work life and home life overlap, investing in your own well-being becomes more
critical than ever. Why? Much like a car running out of gas or breaking down
from lack of oil changes, if you don’t take care of yourself, you won’t be able
to bring your best self to your family, your clients, and your community. In
other words, investing in your wellness is the bedrock of being able to be of
service to others.
How you
make this investment will likely look different from how others do it. In
general, though, you should consider the four main pillars of life:
·
Physical well-being
·
Mental well-being
·
Relationship/social well-being
·
Purpose
Here, you
might think about setting a rule that you will keep no matter what. For
example, commit to cooking at least one healthy meal a day or taking a daily
20-minute walk outside. Daily habits are much easier to stick with than those
that involve doing something once per week or every other day. Of course,
picking something fun may also be far easier to commit to.
Keep It
Simple
Another
key to finding a manageable work-life balance is to get back to basics—those
things that sometimes suffer in uncertain times like these.
Get some
shut-eye. Sleep (or lack thereof) affects our health, mood, and ability to
focus. Maybe you’re not getting the eight hours of sleep you’re used to—and that’s
okay. But you can try to relax and disconnect (which means no scrolling through
your phone at 2:00 a.m.).
Eat
healthy. Although it can be hard to stick to a healthy diet when anxiety
is running high, eating nutritious foods has been proven to improve mood and
lower stress. Here, it might be useful to take bite-sized steps toward
healthier options. Skip the soda and drink plenty of water instead. Try
replacing those high-sugar snacks with a fruit or veggie plate. Find whatever
works for you—your body and mind will thank you.
Start
moving. With many gyms still closed and group exercise classes
canceled—combined with long hours in front of our computers—many of us find
ourselves being more sedentary than usual. But sitting for long stretches of
time can have negative effects on our health, including increased risk of heart
disease, Type 2 diabetes, and high blood pressure. So, why not use this
opportunity to get back to nature and soak up some vitamin D? Explore a state
forest or embark on a long hike. If it’s raining or you just don’t have the
time, run up and down the stairs in your house, build a makeshift standing
desk, or simply get up and stretch every hour.
Reimagine
Your New Normal
Maybe
you’re already focusing on the basics and are looking for new ways to maintain
a positive balance between your work and home life. Here are just a few tips
our advisors shared on what’s been working for them.
Create a
new commute. Walking from your bed to your laptop not really motivating you
to take on the day? One advisor created a new “commute” while working from
home:
·
Get dressed and ready to leave the house.
·
Take a 15-minute walk.
·
When you return home, go straight to your workspace and start the
day.
·
Schedule lunch and other breaks into your calendar.
Limit
your news intake. We’re all trying to keep abreast of the latest news about the
coronavirus, but sometimes it can be overwhelming. To avoid information
overload, consider the following:
·
Watch a digestible amount of news each day (maybe 30 minutes),
choosing sources that are informative rather than alarmist.
·
If you can, watch the news with someone else.
·
Talk through what you are feeling and thinking in response to what
you’re seeing.
·
Turn off your cell phone and TV before turning in for the night.
Get out
of your head. It can be all too easy to ruminate in times like this and to
worry over things that we can’t control. One way to avoid going down that
rabbit hole is to get out of your own head.
·
Think of those less fortunate and what you might do for them.
Focusing on how you can take action to make a positive difference will surely
get you off the worry wheel.
·
Find ways of giving to others (e.g., sewing masks, writing notes
of gratitude), as thinking of others is an excellent antidote to thinking about
yourself.
Learn
from this experience. Start a list of what (if anything) is better in your life right
now—so you can hold on to lessons learned.
·
How do you want to carry these lessons forward into your
post-coronavirus life?
·
Can you schedule five minutes per day to reflect on the joy they
bring?
·
What lessons have you learned from your clients?
Prioritize
Your Well-Being
Right
now, there are a lot of unknowns, and your clients, staff, and even your family
may lean on you more than ever. These added pressures, combined with your own
worries and a new way of working, can lead to burnout, or what is known
as compassion fatigue.
So, if you find yourself working all hours or fretting over what’s on the news,
perhaps it’s time to take a small step back to focus on yourself. With just a few
of the suggestions discussed here, you can improve your self-care and
well-being, which may help you
Maria
Considine King is senior vice president, practice management, at Commonwealth
Financial Network.
This post originally appeared
on Commonwealth Independent Advisor, a blog authored by
subject-matter experts at Commonwealth Financial Network®, the
nation’s largest privately held Registered Investment Adviser–independent
broker/dealer. To subscribe, visit https://blog.commonwealth.com.
This
content is made possible by Commonwealth Financial Network; it is not written by
and does not necessarily reflect the views of InvestmentNews' editorial
staff.
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