Being Self-Disciplined about Self-Care

Being an entrepreneur means being self-motivated and self-disciplined. 

There’s no boss standing over you requiring a specific action by a certain date. There may not even be a demanding group of customers expecting that you produce a program or product on schedule.

And yet we nonetheless create powerful work that can transform people’s lives. 

We must be a pretty self-motivated bunch!

That comes naturally to me and I imagine the same is true for many of you.

The flipside is that I tend not to be as good at self-care.

Who has time for long walks in the woods, or yoga and meditation? How can I take a nap or go on a lunch date with a friend when I’ve got shit to do?  

If I’m being completely honest, I’ll have to admit that sometimes I even “forget” to stretch and feed my body adequately.  I can just keep sitting at the computer shoving chips and salsa into my mouth and call that lunch, right?  My body is clearly telling me that I need to move around and work out the kinks but there’s just ‘one more thing’ I want to do before I do that… 

Not good.

And in the long run, really not good for me or my business. My work is better when I am better.  My LIFE is better when I keep it all in balance and there’s no point in being a successful entrepreneur if everything else falls apart. 

But we don’t have to choose business over balance or balance over business.   Numerous studies, including this one, show that people who take breaks focus more effectively on their tasks. 

I know this, but it’s so easy to ignore it.

So I am making a Fall resolution (because why wait until New Year’s?) to be more self-disciplined about self-care! 

Almost every week I promise myself that I will remember to do a few deep stretches every 45 minutes or so. But I rarely do it.  No more! I'm programming my phone to remind me, right now, and asking a few friends to help hold me accountable.  

I’m also going to put into practice what science tells us about how to take better breaks. Dan Pink's 2 minute video showed me how. Outside is literally 6 steps away from my desk - I've got no excuse!

Who’s with me? We would love to hear your best tips for taking breaks and practicing self-care.