To give your business the best chance of success, you need to look after your body and mind. This may sound like common sense, but there are a number of bad habits many of us have picked up which discreetly sap our energy and productivity, and can also damage our health.
The nine tips below are fundamental in helping you run your business—and not letting your business run you!
Get enough sleep to recharge your body and mind
It’s easy to get caught up in the day’s activities and often our sleep suffers as a result. If the day is going well, we want to continue riding the positive wave of productivity. And if the day’s been a bit of nightmare, we feel the need to put things right. Either way you end up working all hours—but you’re not at your best with a poor night’s sleep, and there’s plenty of research to prove it. Having eight hours of quality sleep is hugely beneficial for you and your business, so call it a day at a reasonable hour—work will still be there tomorrow.
Exercise regularly for a daily flow of feel-good chemicals
Just 20 minutes of exercise a day gives you a rush of feel-good chemicals and helps stave off illness. Health benefits aside, exercise breaks up the day nicely, leaving you with a fresher mind when you return to work. All of that for just 20 minutes a day? It’s a pretty good deal.
Don’t check emails too often; instead set specific times in the day to read them
The more emails you send the more you will receive. Have a schedule for checking emails to make the most out of your time at work, as those relentless back-and-forth exchanges will only steal your focus and drain your productivity.
Delegate the tasks that you don’t need to do
This one may take a bit of getting used to at first, but get into the habit of asking yourself: “Could someone else do this?” Delegating tasks to trusted members of your team will free up valuable hours, giving you time to focus on more pressing issues that demand your attention.
Don’t fear failure, use it to spur you on
Successful entrepreneurs fail—and frequently. Some failures are more costly than others, but ultimately every mistake you make will teach you a valuable lesson, and prevent you from doing the same thing in the future.