“So, what exactly do you do all day?”

In a recent planning meeting, out of nowhere, a new retiree popped a startling question: “So, what exactly do you do all day?” he asked. “That is, I mean, when you’re not meeting with me?”

It was such a fair question to ask, but honestly, nobody has ever asked me before. I hesitated to respond, because I couldn’t believe someone would really want to hear the answer.

But, as I thought about it more, I realized that my typical weekly schedule may seem quite shrouded in mystery to most of you…I mean, is Adam meeting with people all week? What goes on “behind the curtain? ”Well, don’t expect anything too flashy, but for those of you who’ve always been wondering, here goes!

The gist of it is this: I allocate Monday and Friday to planning and preparation work, while Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday are reserved for meeting with clients and for any speaking events I may have. I stick to this system pretty closely, so much so that we have a name for each type of day. Mondays and Fridays are called ‘buffer days’ and Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday are called ‘focus days’. Occasionally, I’ll also throw in a ‘free day’ to allow me to take some time away and refresh, and recoup. This scheduling concept was developed by Dan Sullivan, a world-class business consultant, years ago and works very well when applied consistently.

I’ll pretend that you’re still reading this and are interested in even more details Okay, I concede. Each day, I wake at 4:40 and make my way to the YMCA to workout. After eating a big, protein-based breakfast and hanging out with the kids, I’ll head into the office, usually arriving around 8:30. I used to be an 8:00 guy, but with an increasing number of speaking events in the evenings, I’ve relaxed a bit in order to see my kids before school.

On a typical buffer day, (remember that’s Mondays and Fridays) I work on creating clients’ Financial Blueprints, reviewing investment portfolios and income plans, writing newsletters and magazine articles, developing our various events, and of course, many hours of financial product research. Buffer days are when I gear up to see and serve you to the best of our ability.

On focus days, (usually on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday) things change. Focus days are all about you. My days are packed with meetings, events, phone calls, and emails. On most focus days, I try get home before 6:30 to spend time with my wife and kids before their 8:30 bedtime … (Okay, who am I kidding, 8:30 is my bedtime).

I also generally reserve Tuesday evenings for meetings, since quite a few folks who aren’t yet retired have a tougher time getting away from work to meet during the day. That means on Tuesdays, you will often find me in the office until 9:00 or even later. All of the tasks that result from client meetings, calls, etc then are added to our case notes and scheduled for completion and follow-up on future buffer days.

Why share all of this? I guess I just want you to get a glimpse of the fact that we’re not just hanging out having fun in the office when you’re not around. We care very much about creating a schedule that allows us to squeeze every ounce of productivity into our workday, so that you to get the level of service and care that you deserve. While it would be so easy to fall out of this routine, we stick to it because our goal is to continually find ways to serve you better.

Whether you were curious or not, now you know what we do. You deserve the best, and we give it our all.

All the best,

Adam Cufr, RICP®

Discovery Sessions

You may have heard that we’re beginning to offer something called Discovery Sessions. What is a Discovery Session? Well, I’m glad you asked. It is a free 60-minute experience designed to help people learn the tools, strategies, and methods necessary for building a detailed blueprint to allow them to balance both financial and lifestyle goals alike.

Designed for people new to Fourth Dimension, attending one of these no-obligation sessions gives them the opportunity to learn, for themselves, what they want their retirement to look like and the options to consider when designing their plan. It’s a really thought-provoking process and we would love it if you were to introduce the session to friends who may be considering their retirement options.

Please click here to view a detailed flyer that you can share with a friend.

Upcoming Session:
Thursday, June 18th at 5:30 P.M.