As an entrepreneur, your life is pretty busy. You’re constantly being pulled in a hundred different directions, and it’s easy to get overwhelmed.
It’s especially easy to get overwhelmed when you aren’t taking time to practice self-care.
A lack of self-care can negatively affect your mental and physical health. It can also lead to mistakes in your business practices.
Self-care can be a tricky thing to define, mostly because it looks different for everyone.
For some people, self-care means taking a long bubble bath or wearing a face mask. For others, self-care means saying no to plans you made previously and going to bed early.
Why Does Self-Care Matter for Entrepreneurs?
Entrepreneurs are generally more stressed out than the average person. They also tend to work longer hours and experience more mental health issues like depression and anxiety.
If you’re an entrepreneur, and aren’t taking self-care seriously, you’re much more likely to burn out and give up on pursuing your career altogether.
If you want to be successful, you need to make sure you’re making self-care a priority.
Common Business Mistakes Associated with Poor Self-Care
A lack of self-care also increases your chances of making mistakes and running your business inefficiently. Some of the most common business mistakes you might make include:
1. Failing to Stay Organized
If you’re stressed out and disorganized, you may have a harder time keeping track of appointments, meetings, deadlines, and other information.
A lack of organization may cause you to miss out on important dates. This, in turn, could lead to a loss in revenue and make it harder for you to continue growing your business.
2. Failing to Spot Costly Errors
Being stressed and sleep deprived also might make it harder for you to spot errors in important documents. Whether it’s a payroll issue, a tax issue, or some other discrepancy, these kinds of errors could end up costing your business a lot of money if you’re not careful.
3. Losing Patience with Partners or Employees
Stress can often cause you to experience mood swings or become short-tempered. You might find yourself getting uncharacteristically frustrated with your employees or business partners if you’re neglecting self-care.
This can create a lot of strain within your business. It could even cause you to lose valuable employees.
4. Reduced Productivity
When stress goes up, productivity goes down. Even if you feel like you’re getting more done by burning the candle at both ends, the quality of your work is likely to suffer if you’re overwhelmed and not making self-care a priority.
5. Focusing Too Much on Short-Term Profits
If you’re too stressed out, you might find that you’re too focused on short-term profits and not enough on your long-term business goals.
When you’re short-sighted and having a hard time looking at the big picture, you may end up making decisions that might seem good initially but could cost you money later on.
6. Failing to Provide Enough Supervision
Finally, a lack of self-care could cause you to neglect certain aspects of your business.
You might find that you’re not giving your employees the attention they need, and they might end up making mistakes that could affect your business’s profitability.
Self-Care Tips for Entrepreneurs
As you can see, there’s a lot of room for serious issues when you don’t take your self-care practices seriously. If you’ve been neglecting self-care, and need help turning things around, start by implementing one, or more, of these tips:
Meditate or Practice Yoga
These practices are great for reducing stress and helping you stay more present as you go about your day.
Exercise Regularly
Exercise helps your body produce endorphins. Endorphins are chemical messengers that relieve stress and promote an elevated mood.
Get Some Sleep
If you’re sleep deprived, your executive function tends to suffer. Your ability to control your mood and emotions also tends to be diminished as well.
Work with a Professional
Hiring a therapist or working with a coach can help you identify your unhealthy habits and make changes that will benefit both your business and your personal life.
Prioritize Your Nutrition
A healthy diet can help you ensure you have the stamina needed to handle the challenges associated with your work. Eat lots of nutrient-rich fruits and vegetables and high-quality protein sources.
Be sure to consume plenty of healthy fats (avocados, olive oil, nuts, seeds, etc.). These are great for your brain health.
Connect with People Who Aren’t Employees or Clients
Regular social connection can work wonders when it comes to managing stress and feeling happy and content. If you only spend time with employees, business partners, or your clients, try to connect with friends or family instead. It’ll be nice to relax and take a break from talking about work.
Enjoy the Sunshine
Finally, make sure you’re getting sufficient amounts of Vitamin D. Low vitamin D levels are associated with stress and poor mental health.
In order to get enough vitamin D, make an effort to spend at least fifteen minutes outside in the sun each day. If you live somewhere without a lot of sunshine, you can also take a vitamin D supplement.