While giving my website a long-overdue spring clean recently, I realised something: my blog had been completely neglected. Like many business owners, I've been so focused on supporting clients that I've spent very little time working on my own business. That got me thinking about how important it is to create space for both.
So, with this in mind, how do you go about making time for your business, whilst maintaining the highest levels of support for your clients? Let’s take a look.
Take a proper break
It’s so easy to forget the most obvious and easy way to bring a bit of balance into your business – simply stepping away from the computer. You don’t necessarily need to stray far from your workstation, you just need to get up, move around, make a cup of tea/coffee and give the legs a stretch. Doing this several times a day refreshes the mind, body and gives a lovely little reset that will allow you to perform to your best when you return to your seat.
Get outside and reset
The natural extension/next step up from stepping away from the computer, is to actually physically remove yourself from the location you work in. Get outside, place your feet on the grass by, at the very least, getting into your garden and having a little stroll around. Even better, go beyond the boundaries of your property and get to a local beach or green space. The invigoration of this experience is so positive for your mental well-being and will bring the best out of your work performance when returning to the computer too.
Stay connected
This one is especially important for those of us who currently exist within a business of one – the Loneliness of the Sole Trader isn’t a book title, as far as I’m aware, but it probably should be. The mental stimulation and endorphin boost from having a good old yarn can’t be underestimated. Chatting/bantering/gossiping – whatever your conversational poison, find someone – preferably on the phone or in person so you can step away from your computer – and have a good old natter. You deserve it, and it’ll have you feeling connected to the world and ready to return to your tasks with renewed gusto.
Move your body
This isn’t for everyone, and that’s fine, but getting into the gym and working out on your favourite machines, pounding the treadmill etc, will give you an almighty reset and have your exhausted body feeling relieved to be returning to the comfort of your work chair and back in the saddle. Factoring in the hot shower you’re likely to have enjoyed after the workout – almost certainly, I’m not here to judge if you don’t get the chance to clean-up after your workout – will also help you feel reborn ahead of getting back to business.
Reconnect with your why
Don’t be afraid to give yourself 20–30 minutes to quite simply think about your business – remind yourself why you’re doing it, why you launched in the first place, what your main motivators are, how you want to show up for your clients, what you want your website to look like, and if it still accurately represents you in its current form. You spend so much time thinking about your clients, how you can help and support them, that it’s probably time to have a little think about you and your own business. Ultimately, doing this will allow you to keep showing up at your best for your clients.
Make time to create
If writing is your thing, or you’d like it to be, give yourself a little bit of time to bash out a blog – just as I’m doing here. Putting ideas onto virtual, or indeed literal, paper is so good for the soul and psyche. Pour it out – no matter the subject. Have a passion for gardening? Wax lyrical with your tips for pruning the bushes. Feel like you’ve got a magnificent novel in you (or even some lowbrow but ridiculously entertaining trash)? Take some time each day to bash out a few lines, paragraphs and pages – you never know, you might just stumble your way into becoming the next accidental literary sensation.
All in all, no matter how you go about it, it’s essential to make some time for yourself and/or your own business. This means protecting your mental and physical health, stepping away from the furnace of business, and getting outside to smell the roses – literally and figuratively. One of the biggest reasons business owners work with a virtual assistant is to create more space to think strategically, focus on growth, and spend less time buried in admin. Now I just need to make sure I follow my own advice and step away from the computer occasionally…