We all need self-care. As a business owner, it’s harder to make time care for yourself because your to-do list never ends.
You may feel like you need to be everywhere, do everything, meet every deadline, but you also need to prioritize taking care of yourself as well.
Without your health and wellness, there will be no business so be sure to utilize these tips to carve out some much-needed time for self-care.
Manually Add Self-Care to Your Weekly Schedule
Whether you plan out your time with a physical planner, a Google calendar, or set up alerts on your phone, be sure to add self-care to your to-do list.
Just as you should make time to eat or attend a meeting, it’s important to schedule in time for self-care to motivate you to prioritize it more.
It may sound silly at first, but oftentimes we forget to care properly for ourselves so schedule in your self-care time just like you would schedule a doctor’s appointment.
Reduce the Time it Takes to Complete Your Most Tedious Task
What do you spend time on most in your business? I have no doubt that it’s truly important, but it may not hurt to see if you can cut down the amount of time it takes to complete the task so you can reduce the number of hours you have to work.
In most cases, you can outsource part of your work to someone else so you could have more time for self-care. For example, if you’re a writer, you could hire an editor to check over your work before you submit it so you don’t have to spend time going over it. This may also elevate the value you’re able to provide.
If you have to be very hands-on with your main time-consuming tasks whether it’s one-on-one consultants with clients, speaking gigs, etc., you can always outsource the smaller tasks, raise your rates so you work less, or find a way to streamline your productivity so you work more efficiently in less time.
Take Care of Yourself First Thing in the Morning
When you wake up, it’s easier to feel like you have plenty of time since the whole day is ahead of you. Try to take advantage of that feeling by providing self-care first thing in the morning, before you even start to work on your business.
I find it beneficial to hit the gym most mornings before I start work and eat a protein-packed breakfast. You can also meditate when you wake up, write in a gratitude journal, prep your meals, read a book, etc.
Also maximizing your productivity when you’re most motivated to work throughout the day is another option if you’re not really a morning person. If you work best between the hours of 9-4, you can always take a break in the afternoon to go on a walk, or visit a museum, or even pamper yourself with a spa treatment to prioritize self-care.
Summary: Carve Out the Time You Need
There’s no right or wrong way to provide self-care. The key is just carving out the time. Include self-care in your regular schedule even if that means you need to schedule in extra hours of sleep.
Work smarter to win back more of your time, and attempt to prioritize yourself before your workday even begins and take plenty of breaks to rejuvenate yourself.
This article was originally posted on Due.com.
Choncé Maddox is a professional writer who recently left her job in the web design industry to produce killer content and manage her own writing business full time. She is passionate about helping entrepreneurs be more productive and create a life they love by doing fulfilling work. On the side, she runs a podcast and blogs about getting out of debt at MyDebtEpiphany.com.
Due is a payments, eCash, online invoicing, time tracking, global payments and digital wallet solution for freelancers, small business owners, and companies of all sizes.