How to Find Work-Life Balance as a Commodity Trader

Working as a commodity trader isn’t always a walk in the park. It’s a challenging but rewarding career that gives people the freedom and flexibility to create their own customer base and build a business. In today’s blog, we discuss how to find work-life balance as a commodity trader.

What is Work Life Balance?

The concept of work life balance refers to a state of equilibrium where an individual is able to adequately meet all of the demands of their career and their personal life. Not only do you need to meet all of the needs of your job and family, but you also need to maintain your health and general well-being. When your work-life-balance is out of whack, at least one of these categories will start to suffer. Oftentimes, people put their mental and physical health last, which can lead to all sorts of health problems, including burnout, which can end up wreaking havoc on both your personal and professional life.

How to Find Work Life Balance?

Finding a work life balance is an incredibly personal endeavor. Not only do you have to decide for yourself what a realistic balance of work and leisure looks like, but you’ll also need to factor in your distinct work style, productivity patterns, responsibilities, and schedule. What works for someone else may not work for you. That said, there are plenty of productivity tips to help you start finding a work life balance that meets your unique needs.

Tips for Finding a Work Life Balance as a Commodity Trader

Strive for Realistic, Not Perfect

One big mistake people make when trying to create work-life balance is striving for perfection. Because of the rigid demands of our professional and personal lives, most people are unable to achieve a “perfect” work-life-balance, especially long-term. Instead, you need to be realistic. While never checking email on the weekends may not be an option for you, only checking once a day, at a designated time, may allow you to catch any urgent emails without constantly refreshing your mailbox and missing out on getting the rest you need and spending important moments with your family.

Automate What You Can

One of our favorite productivity tips is automating whatever tasks you can. Whether it’s creating e-mail rules to help you stay organized or using software like Grammarly to proofread your writing as you go, there are a wide range of automations available that can save you time and energy so you can focus on your highest priorities.

Optimize Your Time

When organizing your day, you’ll want to optimize your time as best as possible. If you’re a morning person who focuses best before lunch, for example, try to finagle your schedule so that you’re doing the tasks that require the most focus during that time. If you tend to have trouble focusing in the final hour before you stop work for the day, try to save your most mindless tasks for the late afternoon. In other words, play to your time strengths and weaknesses so that you’re not wasting your best hours of focus on your easiest tasks or dragging out your more challenging tasks because you’re not able to focus.

Experiment with a No-Meeting Day

No-meeting days have become a common trend in the last few years. The idea is that if you have a dedicated no-meeting day during your week, you’ll have more uninterrupted time to focus on deep work. While this might not be possible based on employer and client schedules, you can still experiment with blocking off time on your calendar for deep work. If, for example, you focus best right after lunch, try blocking off an hour or two after your lunch break so you won’t have any interruptions while trying to get challenging work done.

Take Your Lunch Breaks

There are only so many hours in the day, so it makes sense that many of us try to multitask during our lunch hours. But in addition to the fact that there’s growing evidence that multitasking doesn’t work, it’s also becoming more and more clear that taking breaks actually makes employees more productive, not less. But productivity isn’t the only marker you should be looking at. Overworked employees can quickly fall into burnout, which doesn’t just negatively impact the quality of your work—it negatively impacts your quality of life.

Now that you know how to find work-life balance as a commodity trader, it’s time to make it happen. Looking for a lucrative sales career at one of the best places to work in Portland, Oregon? Apply today to our paid trader training program. In the meantime, check out the AIFP blog, where we cover everything from what it’s like to work at AIFP to what we’re looking for in job candidates.