Don’t let your business get in the way of personal conversations

Chee Hong Gan, ChFC, CLU, and his wife used to have a date night one Friday each month, but, like many who live in Singapore, he’d spend all other weeknights working. He’s recently made adjustments to his practice so he can take off Wednesday nights to be with his wife and 16-month-old daughter, and toward the beginning of that change, the eight-year MDRT member recognized the impact.

“What happens on Mondays and Tuesdays probably gets forgotten when you want to talk about it on Saturday,” he said. “Introducing a Wednesday helps to keep up with recent events. It also minimizes the time away and gives us some time to sit down, have a good meal and talk about things in both of our lives and what happens to my daughter.”

Adjusting the schedule

To free up this time, Gan added a staff member to take over some of the work he used to do, like delivering documents or getting forms signed. Now he focuses more on meetings about the client’s portfolio or agenda, and has more flexibility in his schedule to consider how he can improve the business as a whole.

“The danger of being engaged all the time is you miss the big picture,” he said. As a result, he has seen an improvement in staff efficiency and has more time to do other things personally and professionally. “It doesn’t seem like I’m always rushing for stuff,” he said, adding that he hopes to increase the number of weeknights he spends at home to three.

For more Whole Person ideas

•        “Well mind and body” (pdf)
•        “Don’t allow negativity” (video)
•        “Whole Person balance quiz” (pdf)

Written by Matt Pais, MDRT Content Specialist