Sometimes when I think about what it means to be self employed, I automatically assume that every waking hour should be dedicated to my business.
I know you know what I’m talking about – Long days sitting at your desk. Forgetting to eat breakfast. And lunch. Forgetting to pee. Warming up your coffee 9 times in a day. Am I right?
I know this because I am the worst offender. I can literally sit at my desk and not leave it for hours. Breakfast? Lunch? What’s that?? However, I have learned that if I plan my days out in advance and stick to the plan I have a better success rate of remembering to eat. And pee. And breath fresh air. And exercise. And see my husband, friends, dogs etc. Basically, if I plan for it, I WILL HAVE A LIFE outside of work.
I know how easy it is to slip into those 10 hour days. The client work and the pressure to achieve perfection in our work. The pressure on ourselves to maximize our time, make money, pay the bills. It’s intense. And it’s exhausting.
If you don’t take care of YOU who is going to take care of your clients?
So here are some things that I do, and that you can do, to make sure you take care of yourself, and, your clients. If you take care of yourself, you can be the best version of YOURSELF, thereby providing a higher level of service, enthusiasm, and quality of work to your CLIENTS.
Madelaine’s Self Care Strategy
This is always a work in progress, and it ebbs and flows. But let me tell you: If I do these things regularly, I benefit and so do my clients.
#1 MAP OUT YOUR CALENDAR: Plan out your week on Sundays. Map it out. Include chunks of time for food, exercise, large client projects, general business admin etc.
#2 REMEMBER TO EAT: Plan out your food. Do some meal planning on the weekend so you don’t have to think about it during the week. I’m not a chef. I’m not particularly domestic (like, at all). BUT I do like to do some basic food prep so that I have food on hand throughout the week.
Think about batch cooking: Casseroles, stuff that can be thrown into a Slow Cooker, and anything that can be put into a muffin tin (meatloaf, egg muffins) is a winner.
This is embarrassing, but I’m going to share anyways: I am SO lazy when it comes to food, if I have to cut or prepare anything for breakfast or lunch, I might not even bother. So if I make meals in muffin tins, my laziness problem is solved, with no cutting involved. I’ve started a new board on Pinterest specifically for this kind of thing. If you are intrigued, feel free to check it out.
#3 REMEMBER TO MOVE: If you can make this work for you, get a fitness tracker (FitBit, Garmin) that has reminders to get up and move. I don’t have one (I have stupid tiny wrists, so until they make an awesome kids one, I’m outta luck), so I put my ‘MOVE’ reminder in my calendar. I also leave a skipping rope by my desk and force myself to get up and jump every once in a while. I’m not a fitness nut or anything, but moving helps my brain work better. I feel better if I move, and my clients get a better quality of work out of me if I feel good.
#4 TURN OFF YOUR PHONE: I try to turn off my phone, and not log into to anything work related on the weekend. I don’t always succeed, but even if I get one day off from all thing internet, it does wonders to my productivity the following week.
#5 READ FICTION: Yes, it’s called escapism. I can’t think about work and my business every second of the day. I have too many ideas and will drive myself crazy and never sleep again. Every night before bed I read for 30 minutes. Something not work related. It helps me turn my brain off.
#6 WRITE EVERYTHING DOWN: I use Apple notes. Every time I have an idea, I write it down. You can use whatever program works for you, but having something that synchs across every single device in your life is best. Writing this stuff down gets it out of your head so you can sleep at night.
#7 SLEEP: Right, speaking of sleep, I’m sure I’m not the only one who lies awake at night thinking about the future, work, brain abuzz with no hope of turning off. Melatonin. Enough said.
#8 REAL LIFE FRIENDS: What? There are people who don’t work virtually? They have no idea what I do (or how I do it for that matter), but hanging out with people in the real world is a major part of my self care regime. The internet is like a black hole and if you’re not careful you could find yourself still sitting at your desk in a year, exhausted, and out of the loop with every real person in your life. You’ve got to remember to pay attention to real life too, even if the people you hang with have no clue about your work.
#9 TURN EMAIL OFF: If you have a big project you are working on, turn off your email. You’ll be amazed at how well you focus. Focus breeds productivity. Getting interrupted by your email is a great way to have a really unproductive day (life…).
#10 OTHER RANDOM SELF CARE ACTIVITIES: Baths, WINE, friends, getting outside in the garden and feeling the sun on my face, going to the beach, are the unique personalized things that I do just for me. I love gardening so I get outside in my garden as much as possible. This is HUGE for me. Every morning I take my coffee and drink it outside. Every evening a take my wine or tea and drink it outside. Best. Routine. Ever.
The Cycle of Self Care
Working behind the scenes to make someone’s life a little less crazy can be challenging, difficult, and freaking frustrating. BUT it is also satisfying, rewarding, and amazing. I am a Virtual EA for two of my long term clients. In addition to taking care of myself, I find myself working to make sure they have time to do their own version of self care. We are all just people trying to take care of ourselves and each other.
It’s simple, really. If you take care of yourself, you can better take care of your clients. AND the better you take care of your clients, the better they take care of you. Full Circle.
Olga ("Allowing Life") says
beautiful, thank you! :)