How to avoid burning out before your well-earned Christmas break

Top broker Joshua Vecchio's five tips to keep your spirits high between now and Christmas

Director of Discovery Finance Group, Joshua Vecchio has written over $250m, using techniques and tips being shared on his website Top Broker.

We all know mortgage brokers are a hard-working bunch. Whilst you might not have any issues with putting in the extra hours, particularly when you’re running your own business – you might find your employees (or the other people in your office) don’t feel the same way.

Especially as we are getting towards the end of the year, you or your staff might be starting to feel a little bit over 2015, generally burnt out or stressed over the little things – but stress no further! Top Broker has a couple of ideas to help minimise the chances of you and your team slowing down or worse yet burning out!

1. Having the End in Mind
Working without a clear mission is the leading cause for burning out. According to Eric Chester, author of On Fire at Work. “If you’re running a marathon, you get tired, but if you know there’s something waiting for you at the finish line, you keep running,” he says. “If you don’t know where you’re going and you just run, you might only run two miles and burn out because there’s no clear definitive goal.”

Having a clearly set mission will define where the finish line is and gives the opportunity to focus on something exciting – something to aspire to.

2. Don’t have Unrealistic Expectations
It’s certainly good to aim high, however setting goals that are unrealistic is a recipe for burnout. For example if the amount of time given to complete a task isn’t enough to get the task completed properly, you’ll (or employees) will feel you’ve put a lot of time and effort but didn’t quite get there. As a result this then leads towards burnout, so make sure you set realistic and achievable goals to keep everyone on target!

3. Unclear Requirements
When the requirements to gain success are unclear – particularly with your employees – it’s difficult to not only complete the job at hand, but to enjoy work  and feel like they’re making a difference. Keep job descriptions clear and ensure everyone understand their requirements for success. If you do have staff (or even personally) it is important to regularly review how you are tracking towards your KPI’s (key performance indicators) and if they aren’t achieving their requirements, help them get back on track.

4. Celebrate the Success
Take a step back and smell the roses. Everyone likes to be recognised for a job well done, be it dollars settled, satisfied customers, or repeat business. Recognition doesn’t have to be through monetary reward. Research has shown that people are motivated by meaningful work rather than the end pay check. Simply acknowledging the contributions an employee’s made can go a long way to making them feel a valued part of the team.  If you don’t have employees, taking the time to step back and see how you’ve progressed. Thinking about the wins you’ve had and the people you’ve helped can be a great way to recognise the hard work that’s paid off.

5. Time Pressures
We all seem to be busier than ever before. Today’s fast paced environments, we are all working harder and longer. We are all trying to get ahead of our competition and stay on top of an ever-changing industry. This means there is little downtime. Take regular breaks, mortgage broking can have some off-peak times it’s important to take this time to refresh and rejuvenate.

Make sure you keep on task and on target to finish this year on a high!

This article originally appeared on Top Broker, a growing online space where tips and strategies are shared by Australia's top mortgage brokers.