Realizing that work-life balance is not just possible but preferable

Everyone has a different definition of what a balanced life looks life.

But no one, it is safe to assume, would argue that a schedule consisting of 95 percent work, leaving only 5 percent of your time for anything outside of your job, qualifies as being balanced.

For years, Selena Tonielle Chin, a six-year MDRT member from Kingston, Jamaica, thought that was the only way she could operate as she worked to build her practice.

But she felt the strain of this, from frequently working six to seven days per week, often until 2 a.m., to having her son stay with Chin’s mother so often that the boy thought his grandmother was, in fact, his mom.

“Before, I thought I had to work, and I didn’t realize other things were more important,” Chin said, “In 2015, I got a wake-up call.”

That came from another MDRT member discussing the importance of putting systems in place to achieve balance and have time for something other than work. Where Chin once thought only lazy people refrained from working the maximum number of hours, she now saw that an advisor could be extremely productive without sacrificing everything outside the office.

Since then, she has learned to delegate more and stick to a daily schedule she plans in advance. While still working several weekends per month, she’s learned to say no to doing certain tasks herself and increased her productivity while now leaving work at 3 p.m., a monumental 11-hour difference from the old days.

“I was trying to be everything, everywhere,” she said, noting that now she and her 7-year-old son can do things like travel, go bowling and go to the arcade. “I’m far, far, far from being balanced, but I’m trying to implement these new ideas. I’m learning.”

See more steps to happiness in “Living a happier life.”

Written by Matt Pais, MDRT Content Specialist