Mental health matters – Taking care of you is still taking care of business
A red-hot real estate market has kept mortgage brokers extremely busy over the past couple years. Careers in mortgages are known for long and often irregular hours, and the pressure to remain constantly available to clients, lenders and realtors. All this while trying to balance your family and personal life can be challenging! In addition, having conversations with clients who are anxious about their own financial issues can also take a toll on brokers’ mental health.
According to a recent Manulife report on the topic of wellness, employee and organizational health, Canadians have had difficulty managing their mental health throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. A primary contributing factor to the difficulty of maintaining their mental health has been work-related stress. The same report found that one-in-four Canadians screened positive for symptoms of depression, anxiety or posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in 2021, up from one-in-five the year prior.
In recognition of Mental Health Awareness Month, CMI is sharing tips recommended by experts to help you prioritize your mental health and minimize stress during busy periods.
Manage your calendar and time
The rise of remote work over the pandemic has made virtual meetings a reality of the new world. While the greater flexibility has many positive benefits, it’s easy to schedule more meetings and calls throughout your day, and open yourself up to unplanned meetings.
Remember to schedule breaks for meals or quiet time during your day, and consider meeting etiquette during planned meetings. Stay focused on your objective and keep clients as informed as possible to minimize unplanned calls. Additionally, set realistic meeting lengths, and stick to them. Resist the urge to default to 30- or 60- minute meetings. If 15 minutes is all you need, schedule 15 minutes.
Outsource and delegate
As your business grows, a time comes where you can’t do everything by yourself. It’s important to know when it’s time to grow your team or outsource certain tasks. As you take this step, consider whether you’re turning down or losing business because of capacity constraints and whether you’re clear on the tasks you’re delegating. Build a team you can trust, or invest in infrastructure that can help take some tasks off your plate, such as a lead generation service or an appointment scheduling software.
Setting boundaries
Working remotely makes it often difficult to separate work and home life, with more distractions and increased multitasking. Prioritizing time for hobbies, sleep, or downtime in general is crucial for maintaining mental health. Set a time to end work, and at that time, turn off your work phone and laptop, lock your office, or schedule an extracurricular activity like a yoga class afterwards. Experts recommend taking a few minutes to rejuvenate your mind before switching between home and work. Listen to music, read an article, or play a word game at the end of your work day before you transition to your home routine.
Additional mental health resources
There is an endless amount of information on mental health and wellbeing readily available online, and it can be daunting to absorb it all. Start small, use trusted information, and find information that you can practically incorporate as part of your routines. Here’s a few places to start:
Canadian Mental Health Association
5 Steps to Mental Wellbeing – NHS
Leverage your personal and professional networks
The housing and mortgage industries are tightly knit, with brokers, lenders and realtors all playing an important role in a borrower’s journey. It’s important to build relationships with referral partners and lenders that you can trust. Choose lenders that offer technology and resources that save you time and make your job easier.
CMI uses an online portal that allows brokers to track deals every step of the way and upload documents seamlessly. CMI’s broker relationship managers can answer any questions you have on private lending, giving you and your clients the clarity and reassurance on questions you may have. CMI is also committed to providing tailored products and dedicated service that will enhance your ability to service your borrowers.
To succeed in the mortgage industry, you need to be dedicated, hard working, and passionate. It’s equally important to stay in tune with your mental health and take the time to focus on what you need, which will ultimately benefit your business and clients in the end as well.
Use a lending partner who gets your clients the flexible financing they need. Submit your deal today and see why brokers choose CMI.
