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Greater minds than mine have preached the importance of finding a healthy work-life balance, emphasizing the physical, mental and social features advantages. However, taking break day, going to the gym three times a week and practicing meditation may look like a tall order for the busy entrepreneur.
So you will discover what works. Maybe it isn’t waking up at 5 a.m. and doing a cardio workout every day, but weekly Pilates classes that will enable you maintain your mental health. Or possibly you are higher fueled by time spent with friends than by a meditation session.
Here are my suggestions on how to improve your routine as an entrepreneur and find the balance between rest and business success.
Plan breaks throughout the day
They say it sitting is a silent killer — our sedentary lifestyle carries many risk aspects and consequences for our health. The goal is to exercise usually, but taking intermittent breaks throughout the day to stand and stretch will help at least mitigate this risk.
Health care professionals recommend taking: break for 5-10 minutes for every hour spent at your workplace. Stand up, walk, change positions, etc. It also helps to engage the back, neck, hips and hands stretches also to your routine.
Another common ailment our computer warriors suffer from is eye strain. Exercise The 20-20-20 rule to relieve eye stress. Use blue light filter glasses to reduce eye strain, improve mental health and support healthy sleep.
These small but powerful improvements will allow you to make the most of short breaks throughout the day, improving your physical and mental health and stopping future posture, muscle and eye problems.
Don’t cheat on days when you are away from the office
Do you completely unplug when you are taking break day? When it comes to days away from the office, it is important to give your mind (and laptop) a break. This means no checking Slack messages, no email handling, and no answering panicked customer calls (unless absolutely vital).
Have I all the time logged out while on vacation? No – guilty as charged. But since I’ve realized how necessary spending time with family is (for me and their well-being), I find this “under the radar” approach essential. Today, it’s a huge privilege given the support of my team, but even when I used to be a solopreneur, I discovered ways to log out, even if just for a day.
Don’t idiot yourself by saving your free time. If your organization’s structure and capabilities allow it, take responsibility for taking real break day, turning off notifications, and rescheduling things for one other day. Chances are that every part will probably be effective when you come back.
Get to know your “must haves” and “nice to haves”
Most entrepreneurs are creative thinkers. We are the “big ideas” people of the world. This makes us susceptible to being distracted by yet one other shiny object, distracting us from our most vital priorities and goals.
The consequences of pursuing “nice to have” ideas are overwhelm, lack of investment, and burnout. When we pursue recent ideas without clarity or intention, our priorities develop into muddled and we have less space in the day to plan and rest.
I’m especially guilty of this – that’s why I have my “no” person (my COO). It keeps my ideas under control and helps me determine what is “must have” and what is “nice to have”. Not only does this help keep my business on track, but it also ensures that I’m spending my time productively on key tasks while still allowing enough time for rest.
Find activities that nourish you
Many guides on how to achieve work-life balance just don’t fit my individual interests and goals. For example, I’m not a cold bath, morning meditation, or yoga person. But I find that time spent with my family nourishes me greater than anything. I value traveling, meeting recent people and going to tasty restaurants.
The key to balancing your routine is finding what nourishes you. In your case, it is perhaps taking morning walks, playing with your dog, going to the pickleball court, or meeting friends for Happy Hour. Find the activities that best support your physical, social and emotional health and make time for them.
Traditional advice suggests that you wish to structure your day in a specific way – e.g. waking up early in the morning, having a workout routine, time blocking, etc. The reality is that everyone works in a different way. Find the things that fuel you, structure your day in a way that makes you are feeling productive yet rejuvenated, and schedule time for the things that feed your soul.
Recognize the early signs of burnout
Like a thief in the night, burnout hits you when you least expect it. It may look like you are in great shape for a month, and then suddenly you are a couch potato and don’t have enough willpower to get to the fridge for a soda. The goal is to prevent it from getting to this point, but it requires the ability to spot signs of burnout early.
This may look different from person to person, but generally the symptoms of burnout include constant tiredness (that doesn’t go away with rest), trouble staying focused and motivated, feeling more irritable and overwhelmed than usual, withdrawing from social interactions, and unexplained health problems. Basically, if you feel “weird” and you do not know why, burnout could also be just around the corner.
The excellent news is that if you catch these symptoms early, you will probably be higher able to mitigate the damage. You might have to limit your schedule, schedule more breaks throughout the day, vent to a friend, or book a vacation. Resist the urge to push yourself; The mental and physical effects of burnout are no fun!