Owning or running a business is stressful. Anyone that has done either will tell you! Two of the biggest challenges most people face in this 24/7 connected world are staying sane and emotionally level as well as being able to switch off and enjoy time away for the business. The catch is many people who are good at what they do wear their passion and fatigue like a badge of honour. They even brag to their friends about how little time off they have had or how little sleep they get.
So what if I told you I can find you another 2-5 hours in a week that you can use anyway you like?
Would you be interested in that?
It is simple, but it takes some effort. There are two major areas people lose time in their week that are directly affected by your health and fitness as well as another major one that is a result of the other two.
People lose time in transition. Switching between tasks is difficult for the brain to do. One of my favourite books on this topic has the headline: Manage your energy, not your time. There is much time to be gained in being better at switching between the different tasks you have to undertake.
Here are a few tips.
1. Turn off notifications on your phone (at the very least use the do not disturb feature for a few hours a day when you are most productive). Having that noise or banner or even that little annoying red circle at the top right of the app is hard to not find out what the message is! So turn it off all together! I promise you will be less distracted, more productive and people will wait. You can check things on your time rather than theirs.
2. Develop a routine to help you switch between roles. It is helpful for your brain to have a switch to get in the zone faster. Athletes use it, so should you! Exercise is a fantastic switch (even as little as 10 squats and 10 push ups will do it), even the act of wrapping up what you did for the day and what you are looking forward to tomorrow tells your brain that today is over, relax and wait until tomorrow (and it gives your subconscious something to work on while you sleep).
The best way to end the day is to do a Personal Training session! Having the appointment forces you to get done on time (see Parkinson's Law - work expands to fill the time you allow it), the time with the trainer is great to focus on you and you will leave ready to see your partner or family with energy and focus that they will appreciate.
People lose lots of time around food! It's true, so much time is lost preparing food, eating food, cleaning after food, traveling to go get food, recovering from food (i.e. The 3pm post lunch coma).
One tip that will save you at least 2 hours a week is to have a food prep day. A great thing to do is with your family, set aside a few hours to prep, cook and container food for the week. You will cook much healthier, feel better, save a ton of money, save at least 2 hours of time and it also shows your partner and/or kids how important it is to look after yourself. (you can't' expect them to take their health seriously if you won't!)
Do yourself a favour. Go and see a professional, make an appointment, plan your week out with them and start feeling better, have more energy, sleep better and the thing that will save you days a year... You won't get as sick or as often so missing days of work will become a thing of the past! The value accumulated over time will have you never looking back!
*Disclaimer: Individual results vary based on agreed goals. Click here for details.
