Is being a financial advisor one of the best work life balance jobs, or a burnout waiting to happen?
Work life balance is not a myth, but it also doesn’t happen by accident. Read on to learn more and 5 tips on how you can realize work life balance.
When I started as a financial advisor back in 2006 I was told that it was one of the best work life balance jobs since I could create my own schedule and still make a lot of money.
Who wouldn’t want that?
Well, being a financial advisor can be one of the best work life balance jobs out there but it also can lead to an early dirt nap.
Best Career for Work Life Balance
Not long after starting my financial advisor career I found myself working nights & weekends. Turns out it’s a lot harder to start and grow an advisory business than the recruiters make it seem.
I was making hundreds of cold calls a week trying to get meetings with people so I could tell them more about the work I did and learn about their hopes, dreams and goals to determine if I could help them.
The cold calling sucks, but helping people is awesome. The more I worked the less I was at home and spending time doing the things I love and being with my wife.
I ended up making some pretty good money but was never home and started to put on a lot of weight. To make myself feel better for missing out on things I started to buy flashy cars, clothes, and even a big house. You know what? It didn’t fill the void.
You may be thinking, how can this guy be saying being a financial advisor is the best career for work life balance? Well, great question! Here’s why.
One of the main reasons my work & life were out of balance is that I never made it a point to prioritize balance.
I just assumed that if I worked hard and made a lot of money that work life balance would come. Well, it doesn’t. What does happen is that we quickly get stuck on the burnout road if we aren’t thoughtful on how we want to live our lives.
Why being a financial advisor can be one of the best work life balance jobs
If you want to avoid burnout and realize work life balance, financial advisor or not, then here are 5 tips to make work life balance a reality:
Take a step back and take time to think about what’s truly important to you in life. Passions, hopes, dreams, goals, etc. Get clear on what you will be working for.
Create a vision board. Not something on your computer or phone but a real vision board you can touch. Cut out pictures and print off statements of motivation that represent the items from step 1 above. Put this vision board in a place where you can see it multiple times a day.
Block your calendar but scheduling personal time first. Yes, you will need work and have time scheduled to do so, but schedule your personal, family, and fun time first. These should always take priority over work.
Celebrate when you realize things on your vision board.
Update your vision board as you achieve your goals and life happens.
Will your life be out of balance from time to time? Of course, it’s only normal. But following the 5 steps above will give you a baseline and North Star to always come back to when you are feeling like things aren’t the way they should be.
Work Life Balance Is...
Work life balance is when you know what’s important to you, are working towards realizing it all, but not burning out in the process.
As you can see this will not happen by accident. We must be thoughtful and purposeful in living a life that matters and makes us happy. And if you are a financial advisor what better way to show your clients what’s possible by being that shining example. I bet your clients would rather work with someone who has work life balance versus someone who’s on the verge of a burnout.
I cover this at length in my financial advisor course Conneqtor, feel free to check it out and even download my eBook to learn more about my own journey. And of course read Dr. Travis Parry’s book, Achieving Balance, where you can read my forward about me almost taking a dirt nap.
I hope this has not only motivated & inspired you but given you some tactical steps to achieve work life balance in your own life.
Sending positive vibes your way,
Derek Notman
Founder, CEO, CFP
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