The Importance of Self-Care When You’re Self-Employed

self-care

You might love the freedom of being your own boss, but it can come at a price. It can be isolating, you can end up working really long hours, your earnings might be up and down, and you can end up feeling like you can never switch off. Does this sound familiar?

Setting up your own business is a huge achievement, but when you have to balance it with a busy family life and everything else that gets thrown at you, how do you find the time to take care of yourself?

Self-care is important for everybody, but it’s probably even more of a priority for people who are self-employed. How can you provide your clients with the best service and make the best decisions if you’re constantly exhausted and feeling burned out? You can’t.

Here are some of my top tips self-care tips for people who are self-employed.

Make time for yourself

This is non-negotiable if you want to be your best self. I don’t know about you, but I work harder now I’m self-employed than I ever did when I worked for a boss. But all work and no play leads to burnout and resentment. Your business is important, but it’s not everything. Time spent relaxing, doing things you enjoy, and being with family and friends is priceless. Nobody at the end of their lives wishes they had worked more.

Get into a routine

Your routine should not consist of work, work, and more work. Try to set regular working hours, and factor in rest, exercise, time for hobbies, and time with family and friends. One of the best things about being your own boss is that you’re in charge of your own diary-take advantage of it!

Be protective of your time

In these days of instant messaging and instant everything, it seems like everyone wants a reply to emails and messages straight away. I know you might feel obliged to reply at 10pm on a Saturday, but the fact is, you don’t have to, and you shouldn’t. You have to set boundaries between work and your own personal time. Decide that you won’t answer work-related messages after a certain time in the evening and set up an auto reply telling people when they can expect a response. Answering messages at all hours gives the impression that you’re always available. If you don’t protect your time, nobody else will.

Take care of your mind, body, and soul

Think about what your routine looks like overall. Do you do more things that deplete you rather than adding to your life and giving you a bit of a lift? If so, start bringing a bit more balance into your life by doing things that are good for your mind, body, and soul like having a massage, meditating, doing yoga, and having relaxing baths. Whatever is good for your soul, do more of that.

Be kind to yourself

Even if you love your business and being your own boss, it’s a steep learning curve. There’s a lot of trial and error, and not everyone knows everything about how to build a business (despite what you might see on social media!). Be kind to yourself if you make mistakes, or something doesn’t go as planned. Celebrate your achievements and don’t focus too much on what you think your shortcomings are.

Focus on a few goals rather than spinning plates

If you find that you’re constantly trying to do more of everything at once-posting more on Facebook, offering more services, doing more training, and doing more marketing, just slow down. There are only so many hours in the day, and unless you want an endless to do list forever, it makes sense to focus on one or two goals at a time. What is the most important thing for your business right now? Focus on that and you’ll get so much more done instead of trying to do a million things at once.

 

Train with us!

All our courses are taught in small groups which makes for a relaxing learning environment where you’ll get all of the attention you need. Steph, our academy director and trainer, has over 20 years’ experience in the industry so when you book a course with us, you’ll be perfectly prepared to be the most successful therapist that you can be.

For more information on any of our courses, call Steph on 07825337342.

 

 

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