A Look Inside An Advisors Ideal Work Week At Consolidated Planning

Every financial advisor’s schedule is not created equally. But, should it be?

With such a flexible career, it can be far too easy to either find yourself working all the time or dropping the ball.

Here at Consolidated Planning, our decades-long journey spent cultivating advisors has given us the unique vantage point in the importance of creating an ideal work week. Most advisors follow a 1-3-1 method meaning there are certain days allotted for certain tasks.

In this article, we’ll share an ideal work week of one of our seasoned advisors as well as some tips to adhere to that ideal work week, all so you can build a more seamless practice with the right firm for you.

 

What My Work Week Looks Like As A Financial Advisor

Since life is full of the unexpected, this ideal work week is just that, ideal. Though weeks can eb and flow depending on personal responsibilities, setting this foundation has helped me build a sustainable and thriving practice. Here’s what my work week looks like most weeks:

 

Mondays

Ah, Mondays. Monday’s are spent preparing for the week ahead – anything leftover from Friday and getting organized for my meetings.

A bulk of the day is also dedicated to prospecting and outreach. These efforts include:

• Reaching out to people I’ve recently met: This usually looks like sending an email or connecting on LinkedIn
• LinkedIn Searches: Here I evaluate some common connections between my clients and see where there could be an opportunity
• Introduction Requests: If I feel like there’s an opportunity, I’ll ask my client more questions to see if this person is right for me to reach out to.

By establishing one day to work on prospecting, you’ll find additional opportunities to touch base with clients and contacts and hey, even add some names to your list. When you seek more information from your contacts, they’ll often offer up another contact even if the one you were asking about wasn’t a fit.

 

Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays

The middle of the week is purely spent on client-facing activities. Each day will have 3-4 planning sessions with various clients in various stages of the process.

Lumping client meetings together allows you to better stay in client-facing mode, helping you to show up with the right mindset to address your client’s and their unique situations.

It’s important to build in some buffer time between each meeting to handle personal matters or to refresh yourself on the details of the next meeting.

In addition to 3 to 4 client meetings on these days, part of my process includes summary emails sent within 24 to 48 hours of the meeting. These are short and direct but incredibly detailed. This content includes:

• Topics we discussed
• Recommendations given
• Action items for the client, and
• Any necessary descriptors

From there, each email is input into SmartOffice to ensure I’m always able to adequately track my client interactions. This practice provides an extra touch point to my clients and helps the process to move along. That’s a win-win.

 

Fridays

Fridays are another good opportunity to set yourself up for success. For me, this looks like truly disconnecting over the weekend to spend time with my family as well as a strong start to next week.

Typically, I try to avoid setting any client meetings this day but if it’s the only time a client can meet or it’s an A client – I’ll schedule that ONE meeting for the morning. By blocking the second half of my day, from 1:00pm and on, I’m able to get a jump start on the weekend.

 

Tips To Adhere To Your Work Week

Now, establishing your ideal work week is only half the battle. What comes next is actually adhering to this work week. Again, there are always exceptions but they are just that. Exceptions.

So, how can you best adhere to YOUR ideal work week?

 

#1 Control Your Schedule

With control over the majority of your practice, your schedule is no different. You have to control your schedule, otherwise it will control you. And believe me, if you let yourself, you will always find there is something to be done when it comes to building your practice.

It’s easy to always be working as a financial advisor. It’s up to you to learn how to maximize your schedule and create consistency for yourself.

In addition to only offering client meetings Tuesday – Thursday, I choose to start my first meeting no earlier than 9:30am and start my last meeting no later than 3:30. Honing in on your schedule to this extent will also leave you adequate time to be in your car and home by dinner time. Or sooner.

While we naturally feel like we have to be or want to be accommodating to our clients, you’re actually doing yourself and them a disservice if you choose to meet outside of your set schedule. This further creates inconsistencies for you and even establishes a lack of boundaries for your clients.

 

#2 Set The Next Client Meeting At The Meeting

Speaking of meetings. At the end of a client meeting I always get something on our calendars for the next meeting. That cadence will depend on the client’s situation and goals, but typically I schedule quarterly check-ins. Quarterly check-ins are great to keep sight on what you’re trying to achieve with your clients.

Scheduling the next meeting is far easier when you’re together than when you’re not. Think about your personal life – if you’re balancing a career, a home, and a family, trying to schedule a playdate for your kids can take 3 days over text. Or is that just me?

With this approach, everyone can open up their calendars and choose a date and time in real time. There is no going back and forth for days or weeks on end trying to get your schedules to match up.

Setting these meetings at the end of each meeting helps you be proactive and prioritize time spent on your revenue generating activities. You really don’t want to start filling your work week with unnecessary emails and phone calls trying to get something on the calendar.

Even if availability changes in that time, it’s always easier to shift a meeting that’s on your calendar than schedule one.

 

Is Consolidated Planning Right For Your Career?

We know it can be tempting to let others dictate your schedule and veer away from this ideal work week but this method keeps you from constantly switching gears. Here you have structured days where you are JUST doing a certain kind of work. 

Structured days where you are JUST doing a certain kind of work provides much needed consistency for advisors. Consistency can lead to stronger practice building habits and better client outcomes.

If you’re feeling like your financial advising career is more stressful than it needs to be, maybe this approach will make a difference in your practice. Chat with a team member at Consolidated Planning to learn more about what makes CP advisors stay with the firm long term.

 

2024-168619 Exp. 2/2026