|
 His joy stemmed not just from the sights, but days without cellphone
service.
“The energy I felt was self-evident,” said the founder of Bernhardt
Wealth Management in McLean, Virginia.
Summer is a good time for advisers to learn how to take a real break
and recharge. Given the “epidemic proportions” of our addiction to
smart phones, learning how to sign out and turn off is becoming
vital for our mental health and well-being, said Larry Rosen, a
psychology professor, researcher, and author of the book “iDisorder.”
“If you are constantly connected, it will eventually wear you down,”
he said.
The good news for advisers who cannot or will not go completely
off-grid, as Bernhardt did, is that disconnecting completely need
not be the goal, Rosen said. Instead, people can learn to place
limits on their use of smartphones and computers while vacationing
and at the end of the workday.
Delegation is the key to achieving this goal, along with along with
letting colleagues and clients know that you will be away, said
Nancy Popovich, a managing director with The Wise Investor Group at
Baird in Reston, Virginia.
Popovich leaves her trusted team in charge. If she strays from her
rule about not checking in while she is on vacation, she gets dead
air in response, her team’s way of telling her everything is under
control and urging her to focus on her time away.
“You have to give up control and empower people around you,”
Popovich said.
Popovich always feels reinvigorated and refocused when she comes
back, she said.
But some advisers cannot help checking in during their leisure time.
Joe Belfatto, a partner at Massey Quick in Morristown, New Jersey,
deals with that inclination by limiting his vacation contact with
the office to no more than one hour a day. He meets with his team
before leaving and designates someone to handle his clients’
concerns outside of that hour.
[to top of second column] |
“You need that ability to step away, recharge, and enjoy yourself,”
Belfatto said. “It’s a real challenge with all we’re faced with
today.”
Even solo advisers, or those building their careers, can achieve
balance and incorporate precious time to unplug and recharge every
day, said Colleen Schon, a managing director at Anthem Advisors of
Raymond James in Clarkston, Michigan. The key: Communicate
boundaries early on,
“I set the tone at the very beginning, with my firm and my clients,”
Schon said.
Ever since, she has been able to leave the office behind at night
and while on vacation to focus on her family and interests.
The practice makes her a better adviser, Schon said.
“It’s so important for your mental health, to unplug,” she said.
“You’re going to burn out if you don’t.”
(Reporting by Hilary Johnson; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn)
[© 2015 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2015 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
