Whether you’re a veteran business owner or just starting out, there’s no getting around the fact that it’s stressful work. Typically, high levels of stress are born out of a lack of self-care and the inability to plan time effectively. Regardless of how busy your working week is looking, it’s essential to make time for yourself to release some of the pressure. Throughout this article, we’ll tell you how you can easily make room for self-care.
Scheduling for Self-Care
Saying to yourself “I will spend more time on self-care this week!” is one thing, but you need to make sure you’ve put aside enough time to actually do it. Therefore, when you’re putting together your weekly schedule, make sure you block out time for yourself. In fact, you can take this a step further and write down exactly what you’ll be doing – will you go for a massage? Enjoy a relaxing walk? Or will you spend time with friends?
Discover the Power of Delegation
Every member of your team has made it through the door for a good reason – because they’re qualified for the role. To make time for yourself, you need to remember this and learn how to trust your team and delegate tasks.
If you’re a startup business without a large team, you can still delegate tasks. For example, you can outsource your tech infrastructure maintenance to a reputable third-party business that focuses on managed IT services.
Learn to Say No
Some business owners tend to take on every task themselves because they’re unable to say no. Unfortunately, this leads to having too many responsibilities, which will have a detrimental impact on your mental health. Therefore, if you ever hope to have more time for self-care, you must become more comfortable with saying no.
Leave Technology Alone at Night
When you own a business, it’s difficult to step away from work because it’s often completed from home. Therefore, to reward yourself for a hard day’s work, you need to learn how to “step away” in the evening. To do this, you should turn off all business notifications and leave your electronics alone. In particular, you should have a zero-tolerance policy for technology in the bedroom, which will allow you to fully switch off at night.
Maintain Good Mental and Physical Health
A truly beneficial self-care routine will take into account your physical and mental well-being. This involves getting the recommended eight hours of sleep, making time for exercise, spending time outside, and scheduling time for enjoyable activities.
Work Out a Viable Routine
Every business owner’s working day looks different, meaning there’s no “best time” to schedule self-care. For example, if you own a restaurant, you won’t have the luxury of taking every weekend off. Whereas, if you own an office-based business, you can likely allocate time at the weekend for self-care.
Owning a business and stress go hand-in-hand, but that doesn’t mean stress has to become overbearing. To fight back and have a healthier lifestyle, it’s essential to schedule time for physical and mental self-care activities.
