I feel like we’ve hardly even spent a hot little minute in 2021 and it’s already nearly March… where does time even go? My business has been skipping along merrily and if you’re like me, often things can move so fast that you can hardly even take a deep breath. Sometimes when it gets full on it’s so easy to forget how your health, exercise and mindfulness can play such a key part in keeping you feeling fresh, grounded and ready to take on whatever new challenges await.

I’m super guilty for sometimes wanting to hit the snooze button for the gym in the morning or not feeling like cooking dinner one night because I’ve got other priorities, but I know that by doing this I’ll instantly feel off-balance, completely out of routine and I start to see little negative impacts on my day-to-day performance in my business.

If you read my latest blog post about skincare you’ll know that by keeping a steady stream of good habits for me really helps me in my business and improves my overall health. I’m by no means perfect but always actively trying.

Let’s Talk About Health

This kind of morphs into both mental and physical health, as I find that many of my physical health habits also affect my mental health. This is a major contributor for me to have a happy business (and just happiness in general really).

I start by taking my vitamins. It seems a bit lame, but I’m huge on this and it’s something I’ve started introducing now for a number of years, and I’ve seen such an improvement on my overall mental function, clarity and overall focus during those trying times. Personally, I’ve been taking Nature’s Own Super B Complex, Gotu Kola, Magnesium (there’s loads of other brands out there and always remember to choose what’s right for you).

Another big one is a healthy diet (and don’t we all know it). Eating healthy has huge benefits across all aspects of our health. If you’re busy running your own business then sometimes the easy and quick options seem like the best thing at the time, but we often don’t make the best choices when this happens. Now that I’m full-time in my business it’s never been a more important time to ensure I’m getting a balanced diet.

“I’m by no means perfect but always actively trying.”

The best way for me to guarantee I eat the right foods is to prepare. I will try to cook 2 days worth of food on Sunday, then on Tuesday evenings I will cook the rest of the week's food, put it in containers and have it ready in the fridge. For me, I find it easy to bulk all types of tasks within daily life which saves time (and I’m really not into cleaning the dishes) plus, it means that I know I’m eating the right foods. I don’t mind eating the same foods every weekday and tend to just change up the menu once a week and off I go.

Something else I’ve been doing for the past 12–18 months is having a cold shower after the gym every morning. I know, it might seem a bit weird, but bare with me! There’s loads of scientific benefits but it supposedly reduces stress and increases willpower. I’ve found that it personally gives me more clarity, gets rid of any morning fog and it really supercharges my morning. You can read more about the cold shower movement by Wim Hoff here. There’s also some great breathing exercises there as well.

These are my honest opinions of products based on my experience (not sponsored).

Exercise

Exercise has been proven to boost mood and energy levels. I’ve personally found it benefits me in all aspects of life and especially in running my business. Exercise for me is not just about moving and being active, it’s good for my mental health, great for digestion, and helps me to have a happy mind and stay focused, which means more productive days. I’ve found exercising a minimum 4 times a week and always in the morning works best for me.

Exercise doesn’t have to be boring, I often mix up the week with going for a walk or taking time to get out into nature like heading to the beach or larger bush walks on the weekends whenever I have time. Always take a magazine with you, or listen to your favourite podcast as chances are you’ll want to hang there for a little longer and enjoy the sunshine.

Mindfulness

Now I’m extremely guilty for this but I’m actively trying to stay away from my phone as much as possible. Mindfulness for me means anything I can do to make my mind full. One of the things I’m recently focusing on is turning off all my notifications except for work ones and setting myself mini boundaries during the day, such as ‘don’t touch your phone till 11am’. It’s actually kind of fun (ok… maybe I need to get out more haha).

I must admit sometimes I’m strong with it, other times I completely cave. I’ve found that turning it upside down and putting it on silent helps me stop being distracted by it lighting up every few minutes.

Limiting distractions as a creative person is so important for my craft. I want to be fully invested in the work I’m doing and it allows my mind to be free of unwanted things that I don’t need to think about at this very moment.

“Find what works for you in your business. Test, try and learn different techniques. Stick with some that might be painful at the start (like cold showers) as once you’re in a consistent routine these can often be the ones with the biggest benefits.”

I would love to know what you do in your day and what you find works best for the overall wellness of your business.
Comment below.

Health, Exercise and Mindfulness in Business