Sponsored Contentby Transamerica

There are only so many minutes in an hour and hours in a day,but every four years, the intricacies of modern Western timemeasurement give us an extra day in the year. Leap Year won’textend your life span or even your weekend, but it can improve yourbusiness.

As busy as modern life is, “not having time” is a convenientreason to put off ideas and practices that could save us a lot ofstress in the long run. Why not use Leap Day as an opportunity totake time to make the next four years more productive than the last?

Here are some of our favorite ideas:

1. Make a four-year plan.

You want to double your brokerage business, but have you mappedout the strategy to achieve it? We don’t often think more than ayear or two into the future, but looking farther down the roadenables us to achieve bigger things. If your goal doesn’t scareyou, it’s not big enough. Use the day to write a plan to achieveyour dream. Identify tactics and objectives for the next 48 monthsand outline your 2020 vision for where you’ll be on 2/29/20.

2. Spend the day on long shots.

You could spend your bonus 24 hours like you would an extra $20bill found on the sidewalk in front of the casino, and bet on along shot or two. What do you have to lose by calling thatprospective client you wouldn’t normally spend time trying to catchin her office? Spend today thinking about fresh ideas andimprobabilities you’re often too busy to put effort behind, and acton them. You might surprise yourself.

3. Dive into new technology.

Clearing your schedule for a couple of hours to learn the latestand greatest technology may seem counterproductive.After all, that means those hours won’t be spent talking toemployers and closing deals. However, spending the time to figureout how to use a new lead generating tool or time managementprogram can actually save you time in the future. Learning how tomake technology work for you means your team will be moreproductive. Start March with new tools in your repertoire.

4. Get organized.

If you’re the type to shove papers into a drawer and worry aboutsyncing everything up later, you’re the type to find an uncalledprospect or untapped opportunity on the bottom of a stack of paperson your desk. Opportunities only have potential if they are used.Don’t waste yours because you can’t remember where their contactinformation is. Use your extra day this year to organize your business.

5. Read up.

Every day, new content is published on how to grow yourbusiness. It can be difficult to stay up-to-date on the latestresearch when you’re busy moving forward. Use a portion of thisyear’s extra 24 hours to catch up. Spending some time now to bebetter informed for the future puts success directly in your path.How else will you know that when used correctly, data analytics canprovide a clearer representation of your clients’ employees? Andthrough that delineation, you can create a tailored benefitsportfolio not just based on the company, but on the employees.Don’t know where to start? Talk to your providers. They have agreat handle on the market. They know the industry and yourcompetition.

To some, Feb. 29 will be just another Monday. But to you, itwill be the Monday that forever changed your business. Your futurethanks you.