| YOUNG AGENTS COMMITTEE |
Finding the balance
Unplug and unwind to find the
work-life balance that works for you
CAROL VANLEEUWEN
Young Agents Committee President
T
hank you to all of you who came out for our
Young Agents Outing at the Royals game in
June. We had wonderful attendance and I
really enjoyed getting to see everyone. I would
like to take this opportunity to thank our sponsors, Risk
Innovations and US Alliance for helping to make this
such a great event!
These past few months have been really busy for me. Both
at work, and in my personal life. As some of you know, I
will be getting married soon. Trust me when I say, get a
wedding planner! In everyone’s busy lives, there are just
things you have to make time for. While going through
this process, I have realized just how many things you have
to think about and plan for. It has basically consumed
all of my free time, which has put a slight damper on my
family time as well. However, family always comes first.
For many of us, juggling our work/family/personal time
can be a struggle at times to say the least. Sometimes
feeling like you should work 10 or 12 hours a day is
helping your family. But, believe me, having kids at home
who also have homework, sports, friends, church groups
or other activities, makes it impossible to work as hard as
we feel we should.
Because of my struggles with a good work/family/
personal life balance, especially lately, I’ve come across
some good articles on how to maintain this balance. I’ve
picked out some of the tips that I found especially helpful
during this time and wanted to share these with you. No
matter what you are going through in life or at work, we
could all find something helpful in the following advice.
8
UNPLug
There are times when it’s good to have your phone,
tablet or other device readily accessible to you, especially
if you are waiting on an important phone call or email.
But, this constant accessibility you are creating for your
clients can be a detriment to your personal or family time.
You’ll eventually have clients calling you on evenings and
weekends to ask you questions about things that could be
handled the next day in the office. Make sure your clients
have their claim reporting phone numbers handy. I do
believe in being there for your clients whenever possible,
but if they do have your personal number, let them leave
a message. You can call them back in case of emergency;
otherwise, make sure you take some time out for yourself
and your family.
exercise
Even when we’re busy, we make time for the crucial things
in life. We eat. We sleep. And yet one of our most crucial
needs – exercise – is often the first thing to go when we
get busy. Exercise is an effective stress reducer. It pumps
feel-good endorphins through your body. It helps lift your
mood and can even put you into a meditative state.
learn to say no
Whether it’s a friend asking you to spearhead an event
or your child’s teacher asking you to organize a class
party, remember that it’s OK to respectfully say no. When
you quit accepting tasks out of guilt or a false sense of
obligation, you’ll have more time for activities that are
meaningful to you. I have to say, I’m very guilty of always
saying “yes.” Only recently have I begun to start saying no
to things I can’t fit in to my already full schedule. I’ve got
to say, it feels good to say no sometimes.
KANSAS INSURANCE AGENT & BROKER |July-August 2015|