Feel like you are working tirelessly to stay ahead? Spending what seems like all of your time chasing down the next prospect or putting out fires? Feel like insurance is dominating your everyday life?

While it may seem like the only successful insurance agents are the ones who work nonstop, it doesn’t have to be this way.

In fact, one of the benefits of being an insurance agent is you get to decide how you operate your day-to-day. Finding a work-life balance is a choice. For many, finding a healthy work-life balance began by making just a few small changes. Here are 4 tips to help create a better work-life balance for insurance agents.

1. Set your limits. Clients can be demanding and it can be easy to push your personal life and family aside to handle your clients. It is important to identify and understand your personal limits. Life balance begins with daily balance. Limit how many meetings you will have in a day. Schedule a time when you will return phone and email messages. Let your clients and prospects know ahead of time what they can expect. Many successful agents will use their outgoing email and voicemail message to let others know they will return all messages at a certain time.
2. Take care of yourself. Perhaps the most important step in achieving a work-life balance is to set aside time for yourself everyday. Your mind and body need the opportunity to rest and recover to be able to take care of others. Close yourself off from family, work, social media, and the rest of the outside world for as little as 15 minutes (although I recommend more). Use this time to mediate, stretch, or any other activity that you enjoy that will allow you to stop and de-stress.
3. Stay social. I know I just mentioned taking time for yourself, but socializing is also very important in maintaining a healthy work-life balance. Visiting with friends in a social setting allows you to drop your guard and share experiences. If you think you do not have time for a neighborhood barbecue or a night out on the town, think again. Like anything else, make social time a priority in your monthly calendar and never miss out on time with your closest friends.
4. Commit to a work-life balance. Imbalances between work and life will occur. However, committing to finding your work-life balance is a great first step in reducing stress and enjoying the fruits of your labor. Let someone close to you know your goal to achieve a work-life balance and let them hold you accountable.

Don’t give up. While creating a work-life balance may seem hard at times, it is very important. As Ferris Bueller once said, “Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.”