The importance of Self-Care

As professionals and business owners, it can be easy to put yourself last, especially when you are trying to juggle running a profitable business and spending time with your friends and family. As a result, self-care often drops to the bottom of your long list of things to do.

Do your days often feel like a cycle of events on repeat? Get up, get dressed, go to work, battle the never-ending list of tasks that seem to be building up faster than you can tackle them, go home, eat, and spend what little time you have left with your family and friends before falling into bed exhausted, just to get up and do the same thing again tomorrow.

Whilst it is an admirable thing to try to put everyone and everything before yourself - this more often than not leads to burnout. Most of us have been there at some point in time and I don't know about you, but when burnout hit me I finally realized that despite the fact that I was trying to be as efficient and proactive as possible, I had actually become less effective due to the fact that I was not looking after myself like I should have been. 

Taking time for yourself can be a vital tool to help realign your focus and remind you why it is you chose this path to begin with. 

Some ideas and tips for self-care

Create a personal care routine

I don't know about you but I feel unstoppable when I am looking my best. It can sometimes feel impossible to carve an extra 10 minutes out of your morning routine to focus on something like a good skincare routine but it really can make all the difference to how you feel day to day. 

Hydrate & fuel your body

Whilst this might sound like a very obvious thing to remind someone to do, it can often be the easiest thing to overlook. Often I have arrived at the end of a busy day only to realize that I haven't had a single glass of water and my body is essentially running on coffee and toast; and whilst those aren't the worst things a person can consume, I often find it can lead to worse food choices because I am exhausted and just want something convenient to keep me going. 

When your body is hydrated and fuelled by the right foods you can often find you have a clearer mind with more energy and motivation to make the right choices. 

Read a book

No, not another business book! 

It can be extremely freeing to lose yourself in a good book. Being transported to another fictional world can sometimes be just what you need to disengage your brain from the overwhelm of work and help you relax. Why not try and make a habit of reading for 20 minutes before bed, or even better, run yourself a bath and indulge in a double whammy of self-care!

Exercise

Whether it's a session of HIIT, yoga, or even just a walk, exercise is a great way to clear your mind and get those endorphins flowing. Whether you can get a session in every other day or even just once a week, you will definitely feel the benefits of getting your body moving. 

Outsource

Whilst it can be hard to relinquish control over any of the tasks building up on your list, there is nothing more freeing than handing them over to someone that you know will get them done within a set time frame. Imagine opening your emails to see them all filed away in relevant folders - the important ones flagged, the irrelevant ones removed, and even customers responded to with holding emails for you...bliss! 

If you could benefit from outsourcing some of your tasks to one of our virtual assistants so that you can prioritize yourself for a change then why not get in touch with Bloom Business Support today to see how we can help you.