Financial advisers are doing it tough at the moment. Regardless of whether you think it’s deserved or not, dealing with the FASEA requirements and fallout from the Hayne royal commission all at once is enough to turn anyone grey.

The question is, how do you deal with all the stress while still keeping your business ticking over?

One thing we know is that it’s not a good idea to let your personal life go to the dogs (easier said than done, right?). And, as a business owner, we know you need to maximise the quality of your decision making, even if there’s never enough information to make an informed decision.

Now I’m not a planner, but I’ve done a pretty good job of loading up the stress in my own life lately with a consulting business and a start-up. The following is what’s keeping me sane*.

Firstly, I set monthly goals. Weekly is too short to feel like I’ve achieved much, and I can’t even contemplate where I’ll be in a year. I use the following format:

What is the critical activity? Why is it crucial to my business success? How will focusing on this improve my business?
1.    
2.    

This approach stops me from getting into the weeds, and gives me five to six things to focus on. Any more than that and I wouldn’t get any of them done.

Given my business is mobile, I have this info at the top of my to-do list and refer to it every day. If you have an office, you can print it out and stick it on the edge of your computer screen.

Then, every day, when I put together my top couple of items that need to get done today, I re-read my monthly goals and make sure I’m working towards at least a few of them. It’s unfortunately very easy to have a to-do list and ‘get lots done’ but still not move your business forward. ‘Busyness’ is a disease, and we are all sufferers. By referring back to your monthly goals each day you are giving yourself some hope of actually doing the important things, not just the urgent things.

Next, try to give yourself a day off each week. Working around the clock just reduces your ability to make good decisions, and as a business owner, that ability is your most important asset. Write a to-do list at the end of day 6, and then try to give yourself a break on day 7. It’s hard but it’s really worth it.

And lastly, don’t beat yourself up when it’s hard or if you get something wrong, or have a day (or even a week) when you don’t manage to do anything that moves your business forward. In fact, at Mayflower we like to say ‘sh*t happens – own it, fix it, and move on!’ You don’t have time for wallowing right now, so learn from your mistakes and just get on with it.

*The jury’s still out on this one.

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