Entrepreneurial loan officers are often on the go. Whether they’re meeting with a client, finishing up some paperwork, or heading to an open house, their days are often full and can easily bleed into their personal lives. When this starts to happen regularly though, and we sacrifice our personal lives to our professional ones, we can get off balance. Though this might produce some short-term success at work, consistently remaining imbalanced can lead to burnout. Though it may not always feel like it, a healthy work-life balance does exist. With the right amount of effort and attention, you can establish and maintain a balance that works for you. Here are some of the key things I keep in mind when thinking about a work-life balance:
Balance Doesn’t Have to Mean Even
A work-life balance isn’t about a fifty-fifty split. Everyone’s balance will look unique, and that balance may change as your life changes. Perhaps you’re a newer loan officer with an active social life, or maybe you’ve been in the business for years and have a family at home. If it feels like a key time in your career, your work may grab a bit more of your focus. It just shouldn’t cut out your personal life entirely. At other times, your personal life may demand more of you. It’s about finding ways to manage that without checking out from work. Check in with yourself to determine what balance means to you right now, and know that that may change a few months or years down the road.
Personal Investment is Professional Investment
You’ve likely heard the saying you can’t pour from an empty cup. It’s hard to show up to work and perform at your best if you’re exhausted from the previous day at the office, were answering emails late into the evening, and made no time to unwind. Investing in your personal life and self-care (e.g. exercise, good eating habits, etc.) isn’t in opposition to your work. It’s an investment in yourself that will help you perform better all around. To help achieve and maintain a healthy work-life balance, you need a clear perspective on your personal life. When you feel guilty taking time for yourself or see it as only a distraction from your work, you’re setting yourself up for a challenge. When you start to value your personal life and see how it can benefit you personally and professionally, it becomes easier to find that balance.
Balance Can Look Different Every Day
Just as your work-life balance will look different than others’, it may also look different from day to day. Allowing for flexibility will help you stay balanced. Some days might require you to stay late at the office while another day you might block off your afternoon to get to your kid’s sports game. You don’t necessarily need to impose rigid rules on yourself in an attempt to make every day look the same. When you have a general sense of what balance feels like for you, you realize that it’s not a fixed point, but more of an area you can move in. Each day may look different, but you’re still moving within that optimal balanced state.
Boundaries Help You Maintain Balance
While rigid rules tend to backfire, boundaries offer support. They help you stay in that balance area and keep you from falling too far to one side or the other. You need to identify and establish the boundaries that are right for your balance. Whether it’s disconnecting from your phone after a certain time or creating a home office where you won’t be disturbed, creating boundaries is one of the best strategies to keep the balance.
Though it can sometimes feel elusive, a healthy work-life balance is achievable. The key is recognizing that it will take some effort to establish and maintain. When you have a busy career, chances are that healthy balance doesn’t just appear. You need to determine what it looks like and set up the necessary structures to keep it in place. The flexible and entrepreneurial nature of the mortgage loan originator profession is what I love most! But it is important to understand how to properly manage that freedom to be most effective in both the personal and professional aspects of your life. A lack of boundaries and self-discipline can lead to unhealthy imbalance. Any other tips for keeping a work-life balance? Please share them.
Kirk Brewer
Branch Manager | The Loan Geek | NMLS #150287