Entrepreneurs are busy, hard-working people who need to schedule self-care time as a fundamental business responsibility. As the leader of your organization, if you get run down or burned out, your business suffers, so consider self-care to be just as important as other aspects of operating your business. Even taking time to relax with an engaging novel from Georgia Rose Books can provide an enjoyable break.
Manage Your Time
Successful entrepreneurs must have exceptional time-management skills. In addition to ensuring you’re taking care of all the major operational aspects of running your company, you need to build in time for unexpected emergencies, as well as time to rest, rejuvenate, and reboot. While it’s easy to deprioritize yourself or put self-care plans on the back burner in favour of taking care of work issues, remember, being alert, present, and engaged is an absolute necessity for keeping your business on track. According to Develop Good Habits, allowing for adequate downtime and relaxation will help your business – not hurt it.
Stay Healthy
In addition to being good for your overall well-being and mental and physical health, Mayo Clinic says getting adequate exercise also gives you more energy, helps you sleep better, and aids in managing stress and anxiety. Whether you work out at home, have a gym membership, or just take a walk around the block every couple hours, it’s important to keep your body moving. Nutritious meals and hydration are also important, as is moderating consumption of alcohol and caffeine. Still feel there’s not enough time in the day? Invest in an under-desk treadmill and prep nutrition-packed smoothies you can freeze and drink on the go.
Hire Help
Even if you don’t need full-time employees, it’s wise to hire out for services that will help you run your business more efficiently. This might mean hiring an independent bookkeeper on a contract basis or a freelance web designer to establish your website and develop a strong online presence. You can even translate this to the home-front, for example, having a cleaning service or somebody who runs errands on your behalf. Even if you work from a home office, occasional childcare and pet-care assistance can help you free up time and allow more bandwidth for handling business operations and attending to your wellness.
Practice Meditation
Meditation is medically proven to help you reduce anxiety, reset your mental and emotional state, and handle stress more productively. You can find plenty of self-guided meditation recordings online, or you could also enrol in a meditation class or practice yoga as a way of re-centring yourself. Even setting aside 15 minutes a day can make a world of difference and help you better cope with stressful and trying times. Remember, there’s no one “right” way to be still and disconnect. Try a couple of different approaches and decide what feels right for you.
Prioritize Work-Life Balance
Many entrepreneurs don’t draw the line between work and life, but ensuring that you have a healthy balance of both is essential to both your personal happiness and well-being and your business success. This is especially important if you’re managing others. You’ll want to schedule time for vacations, establish boundaries so you don’t have people calling you at all hours of the day or night, and occasionally work remotely so you can focus on projects that need your direct time and attention. Even sitting down to read a good book on a lunch break is a good way to give yourself a brief respite.
There’s no denying that entrepreneurs must devote a significant amount of time to ensure their operations are successful. However, self-care is an absolutely essential ingredient of that success formula. Don’t be tempted to short change yourself.
Set aside time to immerse yourself in a compelling, engaging story from Georgia Rose Books. Look round the site to see which book you’d like.
This was a guest post from Megan Cooper of www.realhomelife.net
Thank you , Megan!
