As a business entrepreneur working from home, I hear on a very regular basis how stressed out professionals are. They constantly feel like they are crushing under the pressure of balancing and managing home life with their careers. The never-ending demands of family life-cooking, cleaning, laundry, and then the added responsibilities of meeting work deadlines, answering a myriad of emails, texts, phone calls, and the list of all the other daily responsibilities can weigh a person down. It can be very easy to not take care of their own needs first. This leads to feelings of anxiety, depression, fatigue, and low-stress resiliency which then can lead to more severe health struggles and challenges. Once a person gets to this point of overwhelm there is an inability to function at optimum levels and their general well-being is compromised.
To avoid burnout it is so important to take the time to do self-care on a daily basis. I have found that using a Mind, Body, Spirit approach every morning will help keep you in a much happier state so that you, and those that you love, will feel healthier and happier and thrive rather than buckle under the pressures of life.
Here are 5 things you can do to set the intention for your day to begin on a positive note:
1.) Use the first 10 mins of your day in quiet meditation. Avoid the temptation of immediately getting on your phone or computer. If you can have a designated spot for this that is quiet and comfortable it will become your own private oasis within your home. You can consider setting up candles, soft pillows, diffusing essential oils, and soft music. Take the time to focus on slow deep breaths, inhaling slowly through your nose and then exhaling through your mouth. This sets the tone for your day. It lets you reflect and focus on the things that are truly important. It will leave you feeling more balanced and centered to take on the tasks of your day.
2.) Spend at least 10 mins doing some form of Exercise. This will help to get your blood circulating and will make you have more energy throughout your day. It is a proven fact that exercise increases your vigor. It helps to reduce your risk of heart disease. It helps you to manage your blood sugar to prevent diabetes, and it has been shown to help with your mental wellness. We all have mental wellness and it is just as important, if not more so than our physical wellness.
3.) Eat a nutritious balanced breakfast such as a protein smoothie, scrambled eggs, and fruit, or greek yogurt parfait. You will find that when you eat a healthy breakfast it will give you energy and improve your memory. You will have better focus and ability to concentrate on the critical tasks at hand.
4.) Have a gratitude journal and write down 3-5 things that you are grateful for. This practice gets you to think of all the good things that are happening in your life. It will help you to feel more empathy and compassion for others and their circumstances. As you practice focusing on all the blessings in your life you will naturally feel calmer and have the ability to look at situations in a new light.
5.) Have a positive Mindset. When we focus on being positive and looking for opportunities, even during our challenging times, our thoughts will begin to shift. We will retrain our brains to look for the good in every situation. We will come to realize that there are learning and growth in our trials and challenges and we can take the good from our experiences and build on them. It will help us to see the best in others. It will enhance our relationships with those that we come into contact with. When we truly are able to see and feel that everyone is doing the best that they can it will give us a greater capacity to have compassion and love.
There are many perks to being an entrepreneur and having the ability to work from home. I hope these tips will help you to be your BEST self. If you can make it a priority to get up just 30 minutes earlier than you have been to implement these 5 strategies you will feel a greater abundance of health and happiness in your life. You will not only bless your life but all of those that you come into contact with in your personal and professional life. You will begin to see things from a different perspective and find more mental and physical wellness.