It is not easy being an independent insurance sales agent and being present with your family after hours and on weekends. This is because work often goes home with agents who have to catch up on admin and correspondence. Sales agents get discouraged because they lose out on family time in favor of business. And they don’t have much choice because they work for themselves.
Whether insurance sales is your full-time job or a side gig, it will cut into your personal time. That is why it is so important to stop your work from taking over your life completely. The only way to do that is to establish a healthy balance between work and life.
Achieving a Work-Life Balance Starts at Home
A work-life balance is about more than just working and playing equally. This principle aims to prevent burnout while boosting productivity. If you’re already overworked and tired, a boost in productivity may sound less than appealing. But if you approach it properly, it will only benefit you in the long run.
Balance your life at home before taking on a work overhaul. Try to reduce stress and anxiety by practicing meditation tactics and getting enough sleep. If you often experience high-pressure situations at home, find ways to avoid them. When things are peaceful at home, you will have more energy to focus on work.
Challenges in Achieving a Work-Life Balance
While you’re trying to balance work and life, you’re going to meet several challenges. These will likely include meeting weekly targets, attending meetings after hours, and working overtime. Moreover, if you have a lot of demanding clients, this may lead to an irregular work schedule and difficulty switching off when you’re back at home.
If you work from home, it becomes even more challenging to distinguish between home time and work time. Remote working and constant online access to information and emails blur the lines between work and personal life.
You may also experience pressure to succeed and keep up with your personal competition. Sometimes, agents burn themselves out just because they want to prove they can sell better than the next person. It just isn’t worth it. A workaholic culture leads to more stress, more troubles, and more problems. It also makes it nearly impossible to prioritize personal and family well-being.
How To Draw the Line and Stick To It
If you’re going to overcome these challenges, you must set boundaries and stick to them. Determine the hours you want to work and avoid working beyond them. There may be an emergency or two, but don’t make after-hours work the norm instead of the exception. Let your customers and your colleagues know about your work hours and make it clear that you will not be checking emails or taking phone calls after hours. You can enforce this rule for yourself and others by setting up ‘do not disturb’ times on all your devices during your personal time.
During working hours, you must take regular breaks. It is useless for you to relax at home, only to overdo things at work. Take short walks during the day, or do some stretches if you have an office. If you work from home, take a walk around the block every so often or play with the dog for a few minutes.
Don’t feel guilty when it’s time for you to take vacation leave. Taking an extended break from work is necessary to keep from burning out and becoming demotivated. While on vacation, you should turn your phone off if possible. If you can’t go without your phone, only respond to emergency calls. It is crucial to disconnect from work. Doing this will help you to return energized and more productive.
When you’re back at work, make the most of your energized and refreshed state by not putting too much on your plate. Don’t allow colleagues and even managers to overload you with work. Decline or delegate tasks outside of your workload or not stated in your contract. If you need to refer to your contract (when working for an agency), do so. Your employer must ensure that they uphold the terms and conditions of your employment contract.
You can also make it easier for yourself to get through all your tasks by using time management tools. These include management systems, CRM databases, calendars, and to-do lists. It will help you prioritize and complete projects faster.
Embrace Other Technologies
There are a lot of apps for business, but don’t focus only on these management apps. Try personal well-being apps to help you relax and concentrate on your work. These may include mindfulness apps and fitness trackers, which can help you feel better and work better.
Try Everything and Keep What Works
Not all these strategies will work for you, so you need to find something that does. Also, achieving a lasting work-life balance is an ongoing process and cannot be achieved overnight. But, by establishing the necessary boundaries and shifting your laser focus, you can and will create a fulfilling work-life balance this year.