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7 work-life balance tips for insurance agents

Whether chasing down the next prospect or putting out a fire, successful insurance agents work tirelessly to stay ahead. Unfortunately, our family often gets left in our wake, and before we know it, insurance dominates our everyday.

But it doesn’t have to be this way.

In fact, one of the benefits of being an insurance agent is you get to decide how you operate your day-to-day. Finding your life balance then is a choice. For many insurance agents who enjoy their version of a healthy life balance, it began by making just a few small changes.

We have put together a list of seven tips you can implement today to start on the path to finding your personal life balance.

#1 Learn to Delegate

Insurance agents who learn how to delegate responsibilities are able to free up more time both personally and professionally. Seek to delegate routine office tasks as well as household chores. The additional time added to your day can be used to prospect for new business and spend more quality time with your family.

How you delegate is entirely up to you. For household chores, consider hiring a cleaning service or enlisting the help of your children in exchange for an allowance. At work, use technology to delegate and monitor workflow between you and your employees for daily operational responsibilities.

#2 Set Your Limits

Clients are demanding, and so is your family. It is important to understand your personal limits and project how the commitments made today could affect tomorrow. Life balance begins with daily balance. Two easy steps to regain control of your daily schedule include:

  • Limit how many meetings you will have in a day.
  • Schedule a time when you will return phone and email messages.

Let your clients and prospect know ahead of time what they can expect. Many successful agents will use their outgoing email and voicemail message to let others know they will return all messages after a specific time in the afternoon.

#3 Take Care of Yourself

Life balance is often thought of as a two-part equation: family and work. However, a very important third pillar exists that requires attention – yourself. Your mind and body need the opportunity to rest and recover. Perhaps the most important step in achieving life balance is to set aside time for yourself every day.

Close yourself off from family, work, social media, and the rest of the outside world for as little as 15 minutes and find a renewed self. Use this time to meditate, stretch, or any other activity that will allow you to stop and de-stress.

#4 Technology

Leverage technology in every way that will help reduce wasteful time spent on menial tasks and increase time focusing on your career and family. Use social and family time applications to increase the connectivity with your family when you are away from home. And, look for opportunities to capture memories on today’s high-tech camera phones.

At the office, make sure you explore the latest software programs specifically designed for insurance agents. There are a few legacy agency management systems that still do the job. However, new cloud-based solutions can bring you closer to your clients and prospect in addition to simply managing daily workflow.

#5 Stay Social

Between work, family, and taking care of yourself, it may seem there is no time left over for socializing. But socializing is very important in maintaining a healthy life balance. Visiting with friends in social settings allows you to drop your guard and share experiences.

Spending time with your social group also serves as a reminder you are not alone in the pursuit of balancing a career with your family. If you believe you do not have time for a neighborhood barbecue or a night out on the town, think again. Like anything else, make social time a priority in your monthly calendar and never miss out sharing the journey of life with your closest friends.

#6 Evaluate Emergencies

Very few daily circumstances qualify as an emergency. Too often, we believe a situation is more urgent than it actually needs to be. This leads us to misdirect our focus on tasks that likely could be delegated or tackled later.

Take control and become the person sets the expectation instead of reacting to them. For example, a late afternoon client call may seem urgent at first and may cause you to rush to solve the problem. Instead, let the client know you will get back to them at a time that is more convenient for you in the future – and make sure you meet your own deadline!

#7 Commit to Life Balance

Imbalances between work and life will occur. However, committing to finding your life balance is a tremendous first step in reducing stress and enjoying the fruits of your labor. Let your partner know about your goal to seek balance and let them hold you accountable.

After all, as Mr. Ferris Bueller once opined, “life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.”

Independent insurance agents use Agentero to boost their revenue, save time, and deliver a superior customer experience. We integrate with your current technology to modernize your operations and position you for growth. Check out our website to learn more.

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