Taking Care of Yourself So You Can Effectively Lead
I’m sure you have seen them: the endless ads and articles encouraging you to engage in “self care.” They may have an image of a bubble bath, a spa day, or relaxing at the beach. While these are wonderful (I won’t turn down a few days at the beach or a bit of pampering), they’re just not always realistic for busy business owners.
Taking care of yourself is vital, however, even if you need to go about it in different ways. Many business owners tend to have dominant personalities, causing us to just push through times of stress. You can do this successfully for short periods of time, but pretty soon, the overwhelm sets in.
This is what you want to avoid. When you fall into overwhelm, your ability to lead falters, which can affect both your team and your clients. By being intentional about taking time for yourself, you can head off the overwhelm and keep your business running smoothly!
Schedule It In
A large part of being intentional about taking time for yourself is the act of scheduling it in. If you’re anything like me, small breaks in your calendar will be spent making a quick phone call, checking your email, or working on a project.
While multitasking and productivity are good things, building margin into your day is essential. Your Executive Assistant can help you do this! (Want to know what else your EA can do to make your life easier? Check out this post!)
My EA helps me stay on track and focused, but she also helps me remember to take care of myself so I can continue to lead effectively. She’ll even surprise me with a Door Dash order when she knows I haven’t taken time to eat!
Schedule Self-Care Breaks to Boost Leadership Performance
If you have followed me for any length of time, you know how much I love systems. Granted, this is partly because I just love systems, but much more than that, I love the results that having the right systems bring.
Several years ago, I owned a busy law firm. We had consistent business coming in, and we did a good job of serving our clients and getting results – but I lived in a constant state of overwhelm. I worked 80+ hours a week, I was stressed all the time, and I had plenty of sleepless nights.
This is definitely not a good example of self care.
Eventually, I learned how to build and implement systems in my business, and a lot of my stress and overwhelm went away. I was able to work a normal work week, my staff was productive and profitable, and I could actually run my business (instead of letting my business run me).
I liked having systems, but I loved the freedom those systems offered me. Now, I love helping other business owners build the systems they need so they can thrive!
Figure Out What Works for You
Self care means different things to different people. For me, it means having the freedom to do things I really enjoy. This might include sitting down with a glass of wine and a great book or taking an afternoon to paint.
It also might mean taking a vacation that allows me to go flyfishing or working from somewhere other than my home. (London and Basel, Switzerland are two of my favorite choices!)
However, self care might look completely different for me than it does for you. For you, it might include grabbing a pizza and watching a movie with your family or taking an afternoon to go shopping. It might be that spa day or a trip to the beach.
Whatever makes you feel rested and recharged, do it! Schedule it in (and have your EA hold you to it), build your systems so your team can keep things running smoothly, and do whatever brings you rest and joy. Your team, your clients, and your bottom line will all thank you for it!