When working from home, sitting at your desk for hours on end can feel as draining as running a marathon. Who knew sitting could be so exhausting??
Whether you’re used to working from home or not, the fact is when entrepreneurs work all day, every day, after a while the grind gets to them.
This was certainly the case with one of my first clients (let’s call him Jeff) who was the CEO of a software startup in San Francisco.
Jeff was burnt out. He was working all the time but still felt disappointed that he wasn’t able to achieve some of the goals he had set for himself. And he was running dangerously low on energy.
The truth? Jeff wasn’t looking after his number one resource: himself.
Even if you are doing something you truly love, you can’t keep it up indefinitely without taking proper care of you.
Put on your own oxygen mask
There’s a law of diminishing returns here: at some point, you reach a threshold where you’re working so hard that you’re not actually doing anything.
For Jeff, this meant he was working longer and longer hours, but the return on those hours (Jeff’s output) wasn’t actually increasing.
I worked with Jeff to help him take care of his own needs so that he would have more consistent energy day after day.
After all, you need to put your own oxygen mask on before helping others.
Dr. Stephen Covey called this “Habit 7: Sharpen the Saw.” Just like your heart can’t beat just once a day or once an hour, your body, mind, and spirit need constant renewal.
1. Body
Jeff knew he needed to work out and take care of his body, but he never seemed to find the time.
Our bodies need adequate exercise to continue functioning. Since we’re not commuting or wandering around a large office space, it’s extra important to find ways to move our bodies during the day.
Eating a balanced diet of less-processed foods—not things that come out of a box—has also been shown to have great health benefits.
While grocery shopping can be a challenge right now, see if there are some small changes—like getting a bag of baby carrots instead of a bag of chips—that you can make during your next quarantine shopping run.
It’s also important to get adequate sleep—most experts recommend at least 7 hours per night. Mythbusters even showed that sleep deficit eventually becomes as severe as being legally drunk.
Try to go to bed and wake up at consistent times, even when working from home. If you’re having troubles sleeping through the night, it’s okay to take a nap when you need it.
2. Mind
Just as it’s important to feed your body, you also need to nurture your mind.
Try to learn something every day.
I try to spend 20-30 minutes reading each morning. If you’re more of an auditory learner, try listening to an educational podcast or audiobook.
Meditation is also a great way to “exercise” your mind.
According to some experts, nearly everyone who is successful meditates every day. Meditation can help calm anxiety, relieve stress, and increase self-awareness.
And a bonus benefit: meditation before bed can also help you sleep, which will benefit your body as well as your mind.
3. Spirit
Even during quarantine—perhaps especially during quarantine—it’s important to take time to connect with people.
Nurturing that human connection not only lifts our emotions—it feeds our spirit.
Thanks to technology, there are more ways to maintain a virtual face-to-face connection than ever before.
Have a Zoom call with your friends or family. Play charades over Google Hangouts. Call up your coworkers just to chat—not every call has to be a productive one (and this is coming from a productivity coach!).
I have found that while this quarantine keeps us separate, it also has the potential to close distances in surprising ways.
My extended family is spread out all over the country, and we had a video call in which we got to “hang out” with people we usually see less than once a year.
Interact. Build relationships. It will help your spirit and your business.
It all adds up
In order to maximize your productivity and effectiveness, you need to take care of your body, mind, and spirit.
Once Jeff and I started working together, he knew I was going to ask him how many times he was exercising, meditating, and connecting with people. That little bit of accountability made a huge difference.
He started putting exercise on his calendar and discovered not only that he had more energy, but that he also felt better about himself when he was exercising, eating better, and sleeping well. These benefits only increased when he added in meditation and intentional human connection.
For Jeff, making small, simple changes—like scheduling in a workout or meditation—had a huge impact on his energy levels and, consequently, his productivity.
And these impacts are cumulative: exercising during the day can help you sleep better at night, sleeping better can make your mind sharper when you work, and getting more done during the work day frees you up to connect with the people who matter when the workday is done.
What are you going to do to take better care of yourself?
