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Being an entrepreneur is hard work, there’s no doubting that. When you’re starting a small business, whether it’s your first or your fortieth, you’re going to always be on the go. There’s a lot of hustle involved with being an entrepreneur working with a new project or investment, and it can be easy to get lost in all the movement.It’s often that entrepreneurs forget themselves in the day to day motions of being busy, busy, busy constantly. You have a checklist that will never end, but hey – lack of sleep and starvation is the price you pay for success and profit, right?Wrong.Contrary to popular belief, you can be a healthy, well-rested and functioning person while you’re an entrepreneur with a lot of things to do. Your daily schedule may be demanding, but you need to take a second to breathe sometimes. It can be hard to do, but it IS doable. These seven steps aren’t meant to just help you, either. When you’re someone who is running a business in its early stages, your involvement is absolutely necessary, meaning taking sick days and running yourself ragged isn’t good for your fledgling company. When you’re well, your business can be well – and that’s what you’re doing this all for, right?
Start your day before you go to bed.
This doesn’t mean you should let your days blend together. Before you tuck yourself in at night, go over your checklist for the following day and make this a ritual. Make sure you know everything that you’ll be doing the following day and get what you can get prepped ready and together. Go over important calls and deadlines you know will be coming up within 24 hours so you don’t forget them.Don’t obsess over them and fret – just remind yourself that yes, they are there. This exercise sets you up to hit the ground running the minute you get up, saving you time and the embarrassing moment of forgetting something and being late.
Don’t let your body stay asleep.
You know that sensation you feel when you open your eyes in the morning for the first time? That fleeting thought of “God, can’t I just sleep a little bit more?” before you give in to the voice and hit the snooze button? Stop doing that – this isn’t usually a sign that you’re still sleepy, it’s just your body getting used to moving from a sleep to wake cycle.Don’t snooze a little bit more. Get up and move around. You don’t have to jog if you don’t want to, but if you slept a respectable amount of time then you should be able to wake up simply by walking around your house for a few minutes and then starting your routine.
Start some brain training.
Your brain needs a workout just like your body does and you can do this very easily by either meditating or mindfulness training. When you focus on something relaxing, it also does wonders for your stress levels. This isn’t just some health nut psychobabble either – scientific studies have shown again and again that meditation is a great way for relieving tension in your body and your mind, and that’s something you desperately need as an entrepreneur.
Get and stay organized
Some business owners aren’t people that work well with organization, and that’s okay but sacrifices need to be made sometimes. If you can somehow get by with a messy desk, remembering all of your appointments and notes while keeping a profitable business running? Power to you.Others, though, need a little help to keep things in motion. Whether you’re using an organization app or keeping an up-to-date planner handy, you need to start keeping track of all business meetings, notes, numbers and appointments. You can also slowly integrate this kind of planning into your daily life, as well.
Remember to eat and eat healthy.
Even though you may feel like you only have time to grab McDonalds or Taco Bell on your way out the door, these are often always excuses for being ignorant or too lazy to eat healthy – and this is when you’re eating at all. Entrepreneurs are notorious for either forgetting to eat at all or having the worst diets in the world, and neither alternative is good for you.Instead of dashing out the door to grab a coffee and maybe a candy bar from the convenience door on your way to an appointment, set yourself up to snack throughout the day. You don’t have to eat three square meals, but make sure you have some nuts or another healthy alternative in your bag at all times. Also try out food services like Nature Box and Blue Apron that send you meals and snacks right to your door.
Try batch time.
This one is simple – don’t plan for small periods of time throughout the day to squeeze in work. Set up an hour of two for scheduled working that leaves you totally uninterrupted and power through it with as little distractions as possible.
Have time for disconnection.
Working all the time isn’t good for anyone, and being an entrepreneur means that you have a flexible schedule. Take advantage of this by spending time with your loved ones – whether this means your old college buddies or the family you have.
