As a business owner, time is money, but there is nothing more important than keeping yourself healthy and rested. It is no secret, though, that the drive that makes business owners and entrepreneurs so successful can be detrimental to their health.
But keeping yourself healthy and in a good mental space will increase productivity and effectiveness.
So what could you be doing to make sure you take care of yourself? Here are some effective self-care routines for business owners to follow.
Treat it like a job
Yes, treat your daily ‘me time’ like a job. Add it to your to-do list so it is something that you’ll never forget to do. A mistake many people make is seeing when the free time happens during the day, but if you decide when it will be, you can build it into your daily routine.
Above all, though, make sure that the activity you choose has nothing to do with work and that you don’t use that time to sneak in on admin tasks.
Treat yourself like part of the job.
Take Necessary Retreats
In the last few years, it has become more popular to head to a retreat with like-minded people. Yoga retreats, silent retreats, ones designed for disconnection from technology for a while.
While there are hundreds of options, sometimes the best thing to do is arrange your own (this can be even better if you have a team); an executive retreat space will give you precisely what you need for self-care.
Learn to Say No
As the saying goes, if you need something done, give it to a busy person. Almost all people who run a business or are freelance will take on multiple projects, help other business owners, and more. It is not because they don’t feel like they can say no – but it is more than their drive to succeed and finish tasks is high.
One of the biggest and most important things that you can do is say no to anything that does not benefit your current project or takes up mental space. Say no often and regularly.
Nourishment Goes a Long Way
If your hydration consists of coffee only, and your food is snacks in between long meetings and work sessions – you need to change the pace. Having a good routine of eating nourishing food is the best way to keep your body and brain in good working order.
Healthy eating sometimes doesn’t happen when you are focused on other things – but it is one of the most important parts of self-care for business owners.
What’s on your Hobby List?
A hobby that stays a hobby because not everything needs to be for money-making purposes. Hobbies are things that we can do to make sure that we have a place to learn, do, and unwind. The former CEO of Yahoo, Marissa Mayer, used to work 130 hours a week – and in her downtime, she started to make cupcakes and other bakes.
Warren Buffett, who is constantly working, takes time out of his daily schedule to play his ukulele (apparently), and Starbuck’s former CIO and CEO, current board member of Discord and Dutch Bros Stephen Gillet, said that how he unwinds is by playing games!
Rest & Sleep
Skipping a few hours once in a while is not the worst thing in the world, but if you have made it part of your everyday life, this will be a problem. The issue with missing sleep is that you can’t make it up by sleeping in longer elsewhere.
While it is a myth that everyone needs 8 hours, it can be a good place to aim for. The trick to getting a good night’s sleep is making sure that you have a good routine ahead of going to sleep.
With so many devices, many people often stay on their mobile phones until they close their eyes. And this is even more tempting to do for people who run businesses. However, in order to stay mentally agile and improve focus, sleep is essential. This is one of the most critical self-care routine for business owners.
Sleep and rest are different, though, and you should have a deep focus on resting as often as possible. Executive chairman of Alphabet, Eric Schmidt, says that successful people are aware of what their body needs and sleep whenever they need to.
In The Now
Mindfulness is a huge part of self-care, and the more you practice it, the better you get. What is essential about mindfulness is that it forces you to be in the now – which is excellent for business. Often when you run a business, you can get so caught up in the details of the day before and the weeks coming up – you can forget to experience what is happening right now.
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