Self-care isn’t selfish – 4 self-care tips for business owners
Self-care isn’t selfish – 4 self-care tips for business owners
While we all know that self-care isn’t selfish, it can be very difficult to put the maxim into practice. While we know we should take care of ourselves, we don’t prioritise ourselves as often as we should, even when our lives and work start to suffer. Whether we’re busy with other responsibilities or just feel guilty about it, many of us feel we don’t have time for self-care.
Fortunately, help is at hand! For this blog, we caught up with Virtual Assistant Rachel who has some great ideas for freeing up time and being good to ourselves.
Over to Rachel…
Why is self-care for business owners important?
Rachel: When you work on your own, as many business owners do, it’s very easy to slip into bad habits of eating badly and not taking breaks, stopping you from being your best self. In turn, this can reduce your productivity and adversely impact your business. However, when we look after ourselves, we look after our businesses too. When we see how much our businesses benefit after we’ve had break, and how much better we feel for making healthy choices, we always wonder why we aren’t kinder to ourselves!
In my experience as a VA, one of the biggest ways that I’ve helped business owners is to allow them to take time out for themselves. When you manage your time well, and outsource the tasks that make you feel stressed, you’ll work more effectively. In turn, this can help you to reach your business goals and reap the rewards of your hard work.
What are your top self-care tips for business owners?
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Make time
Rachel: The first one is to make more time for yourself. Only when you’ve got time to think can you evaluate how you’re using what time you have. Time is one of the few things you can never get back…but you can maximise the way you use it.
There are a number of ways to create time in your day! Recognise when you’re no longer being productive. Be honest – if you’re closing a spreadsheet to check your social media, you’re no longer working effectively. Instead of scrolling TikTok, why not use your break to do a YouTube yoga session or walk round the block?
Even if you’re a workaholic, you still need to take breaks. Outsourcing is your friend – check out the Get Ahead quiz to see what jobs are robbing you of your time and getting in the way of self-care. These are the jobs you could delegate to someone else, giving you some free time for yourself. It’s a worthwhile investment, believe me – everyone is more productive after a break.
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Fit in regular self-care
Rachel: Once you know you can find more hours in your week, decide how you will use them and stick to it. Choose a time from your new, calmer diary and enrol on an adult learning course or make a regular date with a friend to exercise together. If your colleagues and family get to know your new timetable, they’re less likely to interrupt it. You might find it easier to stick to a new self-care regime if you have a class or a friend relying on you; going it alone is pure self-discipline.
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Don’t stress about setbacks
Rachel: Don’t stop caring for yourself just because illness or a tight deadline got in the way of your regular timetable. If you’re having an exceptional week, there are still quick exercises you can do to restore yourself. You could take a moment of mindfulness at your desk, focusing on each of the five senses in turn to ground you in the present moment instead of worrying about the next step. Take a moment of fresh air or try a relaxing breathing exercise – find what works for you and add it to your toolkit.
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See the wider benefits
Rachel: When you’re feeling more in control of your time, you’ll start to feel like you can control other areas of your life too. I’m sure you know that when we’re stressed, we often eat badly and have difficulty sleeping. We snap at our families and don’t always make the right decisions. But when we reduce that stress through better time management, we can change all of those negatives into positives. The result is a healthy, happy, productive time both at work and in our personal lives.
Virtual PA services – self-care isn’t selfish
If Rachel’s wise words have got you thinking about how you could improve your self-care, Get Ahead would love to hear from you. In addition to virtual PA services to free up your time, our experienced team can also provide support with marketing, HR, recruitment, finance and more. Follow us on LinkedIn to learn more about us or contact your local regional director to get started.
