Creating a Mental Health Routine
Being an entrepreneur is no cake walk, please don’t be fooled but the highlight reel you see on Instagram. Every business owner will go through multiple times each year, or month, that they feel like they’re on a hyper-speed rollercoaster. Your mental health will be challenged more times than you can imagine, often for things you cannot prevent. What you can do is have tools and resources available, allowing you to bridge the space between the chaos and serenity, even if you just live on the bridge for a while getting through whatever you’re facing.
According to a study published in Forbes, 72% of entrepreneurs are directly or indirectly affected by mental health issues compared to just 48% of non entrepreneurs. That’s according to a study by the National Institute of Mental Health. 49% of entrepreneurs deal with mental health issues directly while only 32% of others experienced them. Similarly, 23% of entrepreneurs have family members who face these issues compared to just 16% of others with family members who face these same types of issues.
Create Your Routine
Each of these steps I’ve slowly implemented into my life, over the last 10 or so years. These are boundaries I recommend for everyone, regardless if you are an employee or entrepreneur. I didn’t come up with these ideas on my own, thankfully I have mentors that preach taking care of oneself. It’s my duty to ensure you’re equipped with every possible resource to enable a flourishing business, and I’ll support your decision to turn off your cell phone for 12 hours or more if that helps you step away from work entirely.
Having 10-90 minutes every morning for you to move your body, enjoy quiet/music, meditate, journal, eat breakfast, make a glorious cup of coffee and drink it while it’s hot, or maybe you’d like to spend time reading to fire up your brain. Whatever feels right for you, plan it into your day. Take as little or much time as your household will give you, perhaps you take a few minutes during the week to enjoy the presence of your children before they head off to school. Maybe your partner takes over on the weekends so you can sleep in, work on bigger projects, or have a you-day.
Schedule your meals, and make them untouchable by appointments. Your brain and body need the energy from your meals to keep being productive. I recommend a variety of healthy and fun foods for balance, your organs need the vegetables, healthy fat, and protein while your brain feels better during specific rough days to have a donut/cupcake/square of chocolate. Choosing what’s best for your entire body fuels everything that keeps you going. You can even make a date with someone to make them even more meaningful, and harder to skip.
Taking time off is often laughable when you run a business, only because you love what you do and want to keep having fun, but you still need to take time away from work. It may start small, by moving your desk out of the family/living room so you have to physically walk away from your desk to spend time with the family. Maybe you take a 48-hour staycation and go to the beach/slopes/parks near you that you don’t visit enough. Allowing your mind and body to be present with those you love doing things you love rejuvenates you. For some, they create a reward system that the family benefits from: once you hit/finish a goal, the family gets to do something big. I’ve heard of one mom hitting a 6-figure business goal, and took her 6-person family to Disney, for example.
Tap into podcasts that help you ‘talk through’ certain aspects of your business. If you’re looking for relatable people that have been where you are, and just want to hear what they did this is ideal. You can press play during your morning physical activity, while you’re driving, or during your lunch break.
Remember you can not do everything because you are only one person. You may need to walk away from one project to finish another, let go of a client that constantly belittles you, and make a list of what you want to do eventually so you can clear your mind and log off for the day.
Perfect is not real so give yourself grace. Meredith and Alex of Tactic Nutrition (not sponsored, but I am a client) had a wonderful podcast episode about perfectionism, give it a listen.
Ask for Help
Perhaps you hire a therapist, maybe you schedule lunch, walking, workouts into your day as meetings with yourself because they are necessary for your business to thrive,. Having help in whatever feels good for you to pull you away from the computer, office, and help your brain walk away (as much as possible) is necessary.
The age of technology allows therapists to be accessible digitally, removing the excuse of not having enough time. Truth be told, your mental health is more important than anything you’re working on.
I schedule workouts loosely in the morning or in the afternoon, have a therapist, and I have a long list of shows and movies to watch when I need couch time. And I prioritize sleep.
There’s also something amazing about community. Maybe you have a favorite yoga studio or workout instructor that teaches a class you meet new people at.
Group activities, such as painting, floral arranging, rock climbing, or trivia night, should also be considered. Variety is the spice of life, and you never know how much fun you’ll have (or the genius idea you had while you let your brain have fun).
Yes, somethings will cost money, investing in your mental health is a major investment you must make. Take care of yourself first,
