Keith Churchouse: A new well-being routine in 9km and 20 minutes

What do you do to keep the balance and security of your routine that is ingrained into most of our lifestyles as we provide ongoing support, advice and dynamism to our clients and contacts? They too are adjusting to the new order for the time that the important isolation period occurs.

For those that know me, they might fairly suggest that I am naturally shy of a bit of exercise. Not through choice - well, that's what I tell myself - but through the usual time constraints that we all endure in normal times, and now perhaps miss.

I decided straight away that in the lockdown I would continue to ‘go to work'. Now, before anyone points out any possible stupidity, this ‘travel' is in the virtual sense of cycling the nine kilometres to work on my static exercise bike in the garage.

Instead of leaving the house and jumping in the car, I jump on the exercise bike and mull over the coming day ahead as I undertake my ‘travel', almost imagining where I am on the journey. A healthy change indeed, and I am sure physically beneficial for me, but it is the cerebral effect that I feel is most valuable. 

The important part is that, just like you might do in the car each morning, it's a routine that you can use to your advantage, and the thinking time provides an important gap in the pressure of the day's responsibilities. After a few days of my virtual cycle I was able to ‘make it to the office' in 20 minutes, ironically just about the same time as it takes to travel the five miles or so in a car through the normal morning traffic chaos at 7am each morning.

Have I lost any weight? No! Have I lost any size? Sure! Will I keep the new exercise regime going later in the year? Hmmm... However, the most important part is that I feel ready for the day, just as I would do normally.

I grab a coffee and sit at my desk and start the day of emails, financial planning and client contact. I have also taken the opportunity to get ahead by bringing my CPD fully up to date through the excellent online CISI study system and other resources.

When we come out of this and we will in the summer of 2020, I want my time to be fully client focused, and the time afforded now has great value in undertaking regulatory ‘housekeeping' activities.

The well-being that can be achieved in this lockdown period is as vital, if not more so, than in the normal day-to-day routines that perhaps we have taken for granted in the past. For me, routine is important; however, I am very aware that planners and advisers have always been flexible in the way they work, and this is reflected the kaleidoscope of advice propositions available.

Our profession is well suited to rise to the challenge of these uncertain times; qualities such as adaptability, accuracy, empathy, understanding and patience are vital to our normal work, and never more so than now. 

However, well-being manifests itself for you, and we are all different; make sure you keep to your programme to be ready for the surge in business that will inevitably come post this pandemic. Life will have changed for many of our clients, perhaps in their overall outlooks and priorities.

Advisers and planners will play a vital role in guiding them forward in the newly formed views of their lives ahead. Whether this is an earlier retirement than originally planned, a house move, relocation of work, births, divorces, deaths, gifting to children, putting away more for the future… the list of life events could be endless, but it always was. Client needs and objectives may be more focused and to some extent more urgent later this year. 

Be ready, all and stay safe please! 

Keith Churchouse is director and Chartered financial planner at Chapters Financial

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