The way we care for ourselves mentally and physically has as much to do with being a successful business person as does any of the entrepreneurial routines we do. In this business series we are covering the body, mind and spirit of the entrepreneur. It’s nice to see how our daily health and schedule routines stack up to what surveys and interviews have told the world that our successful entrepreneurs are doing.
The Misconception:
Most of us think that because we are entrepreneurs we are now a machine. We eat, drink, sleep and digest work 24/7. We believe we have to be ‘on’ constantly and burn ourselves out in order to reach success. We don’t. We are our own worst enemy when it comes to feeling guilty about how much work we needed to be doing in order to justify our days off. Making sure we are not killing ourselves in the interim is the key to our success. We won’t have anything to give our business or our clients of we look and feel overtly burned out!
So, what do successful entrepreneurs do? They make sure they create and maintain daily health and well-being routines. Sticking to it has its many rewards. You have to simply prioritize the important aspects of your life to create a balance. Not everything that works for you will work for someone else. You have to come to the determination of what works best for you. Only you know what your priorities are. Don’t make the mistake that so many others make. Don’t try and model your priorities around someone else. You are like a finger print and are vastly different from others. So, treat your schedule and routine this way.
Example:
If you are a morning person then capitalize on that. Wake up and be ready for the day! If you do lousy in the middle of the day then take a few hours off—take a nap or read for fun, meditate. Do whatever gets you back on track.
Exercise in the Morning:
As much as so many of us want to not do this—we have found through polls and interviews with the most successful entrepreneurs that exercise of some sort—even just walking is the key to a healthy head that is clear and ready to work. Blood flow and lymph circulation are essential for a clear mind and healthy body. We have to have a healthy mind in order to process the information we will be collecting all day.
Eat Breakfast!:
The fact that everyone says this is the most important mean of the day is no myth. It’s essential. Your body has been resting and healing itself all night. So, now it needs fuel other than coffee and stimulants to get started. If you don’t you’ll experience fatigue crash by the early afternoon and this is a real productivity downer.
Get Up Before the Family:
Most successful female entrepreneurs will actually get up one hour prior to the family in order to get some time to themselves. There is a lot to be said for this. The best rituals are the ones that will put you in the mood you need to be in for the day. If by chance you start off your day badly or negatively in any way, you will snowball that into your day for sure.
Crazy Routines of the Famous and Successful:
Winston Churchill, one of the former Prime Ministers of England had an unlikely routine. However it is a great example of tailoring what works for your success and it will certainly pull you out of your 9-5 grind.
Churchill would begin his day in bed until 11:00am. He woke at 7:30. He was brought his breakfast, made his secretaries take dictation and read his mail.
He stopped by his office space in the house for about an hour and then, ate lunch from 1:00 to 3:30 pm with colleagues and family. Discussed his day and made small talk over a 3-4 course meal. He believed that quality time made him better at what he did. He worked until roughly 5pm and engaged in a nap for about an hour and a half. Then, he worked until dinner at 8pm. This is with the same family and his guests. He would then work for another hour or so before turning in again.
Set Goals in the Morning:
First, give yourself a list of choices. If you meditate and exercise then make it an either or choice. Give yourself plenty of flexibility so you don’t feel in a forced rut. If you are a night owl—then try to get the bulk of your work done at night. You can even work this around deadlines you have with clients if you work smart. Choose the beginning of the week for prioritizing your schedule for rest of the week. Mondays can be for that. If you are the type of person that likes weekends off—this is a great way to make it feel as if you have another off day to just reorganize your week! This will give you the energy you need for what you need to do the rest of the week. You would be surprised at the psychological impact a Monday has. There has been songs made about it like “Manic Monday” etc… so, you know that if you view Mondays as a hectic day—then it will be. If you are this type of person—make it a better Monday by using it as a lead in to the week and not a fully fledged business day. You may just see that your week is a lot better and you are so much more productive. This way, the weekend can be yours. All yours.
Creative Work May Be Best When Tired:
When you’re tired, sometimes you may fare better doing whatever creative work you have. Make sure you are putting off any strenuous administrative work at that time. Now, your body clock will tell you a lot of things. One, it will tell you when to sleep, eat and work. You may or may not have the luxury to do everything according to your body clock. If you can though, listen to it as much as possible. Even if it’s one to two times a day. You’ll feel so much better and think so much clearer if you aren’t working through hunger or fighting off tired.
Watch Your Alarm Clock:
Believe it or not—the way we wake up has a lot to do with the alarm clock sounds we wake up to. That incredibly harsh generic alarm clock sound can send waves of stress through our body’s. The best alarm clocks are those that mimmick nature like chirping birds or water falls or pleasant classical or meditation music.
Winding Down from Work:
Winding down from work takes a routine that works for you specifically. The best advice out there is to disengage from the work day. This means all electronic equipment being turned off. After a certain hour, no notifications are on and nothing gets checked. Make sure that if you have family that may need to get to you that you have a certain ring tone for them as well as a text tone. This way, if you need to speak to them you can and ignore the rest. It’s important that we are closed off from the world at night. Sleep and total relaxation before bedtime is essential.
Write in a Journal:
Yes write in a non business journal. Do the “Dear Diary” type of personal journaling and make it positive. Write your gratitude for what you have accomplished and not only that—what you have taken for granted that you have in your life right now. It doesn’t matter how silly it looks or sounds. It doesn’t matter how large or small it is. It can be about the weather was great today and I am so grateful. My kid brought home a B on their report card and I am so grateful today. I have healthy senses to hear and see all the beauty around me on my walk today—I am so grateful for that! After you’ve done this for so long—maybe a matter of weeks—you’ll see a change—a big change.
Being an entrepreneur or a successful business person is more about how you take care of yourself than it is about any business strategy. It’s a general lifestyle because each thing will affect something else. You are made successful by being clear minded and focused on what you need to accomplish. You can’t be an innovator if you are battling sleep deprivation or malnutrition. If we have ill health of the body, mind or spirit we cannot be fruitful. It’s interesting and comforting to know that from the least to the best entrepreneurs the advice is not that different at all.
