Schedule vacations like appointments

Karl John Krokosinski no longer has children living at home. But the 36-year MDRT member from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, still operates like he did when his five kids were still actually kids.

Then and now, he sits down at the beginning of the year and schedules when family vacations will take place. So even though he no longer needs to incorporate soccer games and seasonal school breaks into his own day-to-day, it’s still a component of the scheduling that allows him to travel with his wife, the kids, kids’ spouses and five grandchildren. Earlier this year, the entire group spent more than two weeks renting a palazzo in Italy, providing a car to each couple and a pool for all to enjoy. Part of the idea of the trip was to allow everyone to design their own daily itinerary, which gave everyone (especially the little ones) a feeling of purpose and investment in the experience.

“People may get nervous trying to schedule things a year or two in advance, but once they get used to the idea, they kinda like it,” Krokosinski said. By looking at his entire schedule as an appointment, he can more easily keep tabs on, say, his grandchildren’s schedules and maintain availability for the whole family to get together. “I’ve learned to make sure to take into account everybody in the family first, and the business fits in,” he said, “When I know I’ll be away for those two weeks, three months in advance I have an activity pattern I build in.”

That isn’t the only way work-life balance blends between his home life and professional life. He believes strongly in getting to know the families of all colleagues to make sure he understands what their beliefs, commitments and schedules will be to make sure he takes that into consideration throughout the year, in and out of the office. He also recognized that while he may not have been up for calling his wife before they met in person — Krokosinki calls their initial date a “personal, favorable introduction to each other” rather than a blind date — the same idea applies to referrals. Because he doesn’t do referrals, making calls to someone he hasn’t met, but he will go to an in-person meeting where he is introduced to a prospect by a client.

“That way no one is uncomfortable,” he said, “and you learn the idiosyncrasies about each other because the third party who knows both of you will identify why they think you should work together.”

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