Guest Post By Carleen Moore
Image via Pexels
Striking a work-life balance can be difficult in an increasingly connected world. For entrepreneurs, self-care is more important than ever for maintaining your mental and physical health. The trouble is, taking breaks can feel like laziness when you’re used to overworking. But, studies show that doing so can help you be sharper at the office. If you're ready for a change, here are five ways to make more time for self-care and improve your well-being.
1. Work Out at Home
The benefits of exercise are well-known by now, but you may still feel you struggle to find the time to do it. Thankfully there are tons of at-home workout options that save you the time of a gym commute or a locker-room shower session. You don’t even need equipment, as there are tons of bodyweight routines on YouTube and other free and premium apps. However, if you want equipment, companies like Peloton and Tonal are creating easy-to-use systems with trainers built-in.
2. Meditate Anywhere
Meditation has numerous advantages, and you don’t have to plan for a 45-minute session to get them. Apps like Headspace can get you started with just a few minutes per day. Whether you want to meditate in the morning before you leave home or take a break during your workday to find your center, fitting in meditation time is entirely doable.
3. Hire Help
If you feel you have too much on your plate, hiring help can leave more time for your higher priorities. Virtual assistants can answer emails, handle your calendar, and so much more. Because they work remotely, they are often very affordable.
If you have lots of paperwork and tax documents to handle, consider forming an LLC which lowers your liability and makes filing taxes easier. This will help your stress levels even more if you hire this formation service to set it up for you. They can handle your specific state laws and get you all of the documents that you need.
4. Plan Your Meals
There are tons of meal-prep ideas online so you can plan healthy meals for the week without getting overwhelmed. Doing this will help you make better food decisions and keep you from running through the drive-through when you’re in a rush. If you don’t like cooking, look for a meal service in your area that preps nutritious meals in bulk. This will save you tons of time, stress, and energy.
5. Disconnect
You’ll never feel that you have time for self-care with your notifications constantly going off. Set some firm boundaries with your time, and turn on do-not-disturb so that you can focus on mindful activities. Doing so will let you get into a state of flow and keep you from constantly thinking about work problems. It’s easy to pick up your phone and scroll through social media when you feel like you have no energy to do anything else, but doing this can worsen the problem. Instead, recharge by reading a good book, creating mindful art, or spending quality time with loved ones.
By following some of the tips above, you can make time for lifelong self-care practices and lower your stress levels. Being a leader comes with a lot of responsibility. So, it’s essential that you make time for yourself and reduce your level of self-pressure. When you do so, you’ll work and play better.
Carleen Moore has more than 25 years of experience running her own business. Familiar with the unique challenges for women in business, she is also an advocate for female entrepreneurs everywhere. In her spare time, she loves reading and spending time with her French Bulldog, Nano.
