Look after yourself, and know when to recharge
It just makes sense to look after yourself, and if you’re a business owner then even more so. You often are on high alert, constantly assessing ways to increase income and staying afloat. When you’re busy and your clients all ‘need’ you to deliver, you end up working all the hours under the sun to keep them happy and loyal. While your heart is in the right place, good intentions fly out of the window and the next thing you know is that you’re burnt out and becoming less and less effective. Working yourself into the ground is only sustainable for so long, and eventually it will catch up with you one way or another.
It used to be that a week or two weeks holiday was the ultimate solution to resolve all the stress build up of 11 months and then you’d come back and throw yourself into the same loop and do it all over again. So what is there that you can actually do?
You need to be able to shift towards keeping a balance for your wellbeing, and making it a priority for every day alongside your other commitments. It’s no longer just about heading to the gym, we’re talking about a holistic approach, which covers all aspects of mental and physical health. More often than not something like the gym often succumbs to easily being one of the first things to drop as it’s another time-consuming expense, and once the initial enthusiasm wanes you just don’t see the point anymore. Through trial and error, more often error, we have learnt that baby steps work best when trying to create new habits. These good, new habits then become a natural part of your day, fitting better within your routine.
Here are a few pointers we think will help; looking at different aspects of your lifestyle to think about and see if you can make a few smaller adjustments, which can then turn into creating a big difference long term.
● Get enough Sleep
Getting the optimal hours of sleep will help you focus better. Go to bed that little bit earlier and then get up earlier to start your day. Those early hours, when others are just stirring, are a perfect time to take a look at what the day has in store for you. You can then plan the best way to make a start and get things underway. There is a certain efficiency you feel when getting up early and getting your day into action that just can’t be beaten. It creates clarity for the day ahead and makes it a lot simpler to stop work at a reasonable, “normal”, times and then you can have a personal life too.
● Exercise outdoors
When you exercise outdoors you have the fresh air and changing seasons, which make a much more interesting backdrop to exercise than an air-cooled gym. The outdoors is also literally on your doorstep, so you start the moment you step out of the door. Look at the increase in those wanting to try running during the 2020 lockdown. If you can’t stand the idea of couch to 5k then not to worry as there is already Stroll to Stride 5k which is much easier on your knees and the perfect stepping stone to start.
● Eat well
You do not need to only eat salad; think balance. The rule to follow is 80:20. If you’re eating well 80% of the time, the odd “treat” is just an extra layer in the joy of eating. Eating well means looking at eating things that add nutrition, and keeping sugar to minimum. Keep it fast, simple and easy with loads of vegetables, This should take up around half of your portion (stir fries, four-minute egg noodles etc), because if it’s too complicated the lure of quick and easy, heat-up meals will be so much harder to resist.
● Turn Wine into Water
Drinking is great when you’re having a party but not when it’s become an everyday occurance. Give your liver a break and at least make sure that you are staying hydrated and drinking 2l of water a day. You’ll soon relish the clearer head and alertness, which is always good for business!
● Look after your gut and it will look after you
Think of your gut as a second brain – we all know the phrase about your gut telling you something. If your gut is in bad shape it will disrupt your day and can leave you feeling miserable and uncomfortable, so it’s worth taking all the steps that will keep it in good shape. Nothing too crazy - good sleep, exercise, good food and reduce stress etc.
● Switch off
There is more and more evidence about the effects of electronic devices and how disruptive they are, even when you’re sleeping. Not to mention the amount of time they take up through out the day as you scroll endlessly through all the different feeds. Take the step to switch them off and put them in a drawer during important family times, such as mealtimes and activities. You should also try and keep them out of your bedrooms, or if it is your only form of alarm make sure you turn on do not disturb or bedtime mode, this will stop you being bombarded with notification after notification.
You do not need to be on call or available 24 hours of the day and it’s OK to set boundaries about when you are available.
● Good mental health
We talked about looking after your gut so let’s look after your first brain too. Be sure to take a breather and stop trying to remember everything at once. Even if you can take at least a few minutes a day to just *breathe*. There are plenty of things out there to help you work out how to pause and briefly switch off the world.
● Bring in help with work and with your home
Know when to ask for help. We would say this because it’s our job to help people who are too busy and getting over run with work. However, that being said, when you get help even with just one task it can make an enormous difference. Book that cleaner, go to that car wash and why not look at how a Virtual Assistant could help you and devour through that mountain of paperwork that’s been holding you back. Even just this one task and create so much more free time for you.