An Entrepreneur’s Guide to Self Care

The last four coaching calls I’ve been on have focused on one topic.  Self care.  But wait a minute; I’m a business coach so why do I spend time with my clients talking about self-care?

Guess what? Unless you take care of yourself you cannot take care of your business.  

Entrepreneurs tend to put everything and everyone in front of themselves.  When they do that, they risk losing it all.  

Now before you tell me (or yourself) that you don’t have time for self care, take a look at the following seven areas to keep an eye on.  None will take you more than a couple of minutes a day.

1. Go outdoors. It’s easy to spend your day stuck behind your computer or on the phone.  Stop for a few minutes and step outside.  Do this even if it’s really hot, cold, raining or snowing.  It doesn’t have to be long (two or three minutes can make a huge difference).
2. Exercise. It’d be great if you had a serious fitness routine but what I’m talking about is simply to use your body in some way.  Spend a few minutes stretching, walk down the block, or walk up a flight of stairs.  Bottom line – do something.
3. Nourish yourself.  Eat regularly.  Stop for meals, don’t go hungry and keep yourself hydrated. Your brain can’t work when it’s looking for food.
4. Laugh. You can’t be serious 100% of the time. Yes, the work you do is important and the money you earn from doing your work is vital to your existence but take a few minutes to laugh each day.
5. Connect.  A solopreneur’s life can get lonely so we tend to reach out to other solopreneurs.  This is natural because we have common interests but then we talk shop.  I encourage you to connect with someone and have at least one conversation every day that has nothing to do with your business.
6. Play.  Do something other than work that you enjoy that takes you out of your every day routine.
7. Forgive.  We tend to be harder on ourselves than anyone else and that’s simply not fair. It’s okay if you make a mistake. What’s not okay is to beat yourself up about it. When you make a mistake figure out what next step you need to take and move on.

What can you do to take care of yourself?  What do you need to add to your life?  Share your thoughts in the comments section below.