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Work Smart, Work Healthily

Work Smart, Work Healthily

Setting up on your own, whether as a freelancer or as the owner of a small business, is not without its challenges and if you’ve been in business for even a little while you’ll know just how stressful life can be when you’re the one calling the shots.

It’s easy to throw everything you’ve got into your business, even at the risk of your own physical and mental health. While it’s hard to find some distance between your business and your home life, doing so is essential if your working life is to be sustainable.

In this blog, we’re taking a look at what it means to find balance in your working life without compromising on the quality time you put into your daily tasks.

Work Smart

We don’t believe that tech has the easy answer for everything but it certainly can help you to save time and effort, especially when you’re covering areas in your business that you don’t have much experience in. Whether you run a graphic design company or own a series of debt collection practices you know that at some point you’re going to have to get on top of your books.

If you struggle to make this work, then think about outsourcing to an accountant but if you can find an afternoon to spend getting to grips with it, then something like QuickBooks is going to be a life saver. Use this piece of software to keep track of your outgoing invoices and your incoming payments. Use it to stay on top of your business’ financial performance and your paychecks, as well as set money aside for your tax.

Master it and the amount of time you’re having to pour over your books will be kept to a minimum, freeing you up to do more of what you love doing best in your business.

Work Healthily

Your mental and physical health should be a priority. It should be at the forefront of your mind when it comes to your working day so make sure you check in regularly with yourself to keep track of how you are feeling.

Physically, create time in your day for movement. This is particularly important if you’re stuck behind a desk all day and don’t have much time to move around physically. Set an alarm to help you remember to get up and take a walk, every half an hour or so. You’ll benefit from the few moments of headspace you get away from your screen and your back will thank you for the chance to take a break from the office chair.

Image from Pexels: CC0 Licence

Your mental health is also a crucial element of your working practice. Some stress is inevitable when it comes to setting up your business but in the long term a high level of stress is unsustainable. When it comes to spotting symptoms of stress and other mental health challenges, you’ll want to look out for the following:

Sleeping problems: stress and anxiety can lead to issues sleeping, which can exacerbate the feelings of stress and anxiety in a vicious circle. It can feel frustrating and worrying as you toss and turn with the worries of running your business on your mind.

Having adequate time to wind down at the end of the day can very often be the solution for this issue, or at least go a long way in helping. Set yourself some boundaries and when it’s time to switch off that laptop, do it. Be disciplined enough to not check your emails late into the night or work on that project. Instead do something completely different, read a book, watch a movie or just spend time with your family.  Give your brain time to process and unwind and try to give adequate space between screen time and going to bed.

Feeling overwhelmed: that feeling of not being able to cope with what’s on your plate. It can feel too much. The very best thing you can do is to talk to someone about it. If that person is a business coach, then get it done. On the other hand that person might be a close family friend or even a therapist, whatever it takes for you to feel in control.

Setting up on your own is a fun, exciting and stressful time. Get the support on board that you need and make sure you’re working smart and healthily. Don’t neglect your mental or physical health and make your career a long and happy one.

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