Burnout is always a concern in any fast-paced, competitive environment, and the mortgage industry certainly meets those qualifications. It takes ambition, grit (more on grit, here), and hard work to succeed as a loan officer, but there’s only so much energy we can expend before it begins to backfire. If you want to do your best, achieve your goals, and excel in your work, you need to be cognizant of the toll that high performance can take on you. This week, I wanted to explore some of the best ways to avoid burnout as a loan officer. Let’s dive in:
Have Realistic Expectations
Burnout often comes from stress and fatigue. Both of those things keep us from functioning at our best. Now, we don’t have control over all the stress in our day-to-day, but we need to be able to reduce stress in the areas we can control. Having unrealistic expectations is a common source of frustration and stress — when we expect too much of ourselves and don’t meet the mark, the fallout can be crushing. I challenge myself all the time, but I’ve learned to make those challenges realistically achievable. Look at your current goals and determine how realistic each one is to achieve. Then, redraft them accordingly to ensure none of them are completely unrealistic.
Decompress
Even the most ambitious among us see the value in a work/life balance; it’s just that with a punishing workload, the life part of the equation can get smaller and smaller. Making ample time to decompress and reset is essential to functioning at our best. There’s no doubt that the balance can be difficult to maintain, but pay attention to it and make changes when you need to.
Set Boundaries
Staying constantly connected to work is another common cause of burnout. It has become far too easy with laptops, tablets, and smartphones. We’re getting social-media and email notifications at dinner, and work calls or texts all the time. These interruptions can take a real toll because they blur the line between personal and work, meaning we’re never really switched ‘off’. Setting boundaries to maintain some space between your work and personal life may be challenging, but it’s well worth the investment to define the lines and maintain some separation.
Burnout may seem like a far-fetched outcome, but it happens more than you think. Not only that, it can be hard to recognize when you’re there. These ideas will help keep you from crossing the line and getting stuck in a rut.
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