Every week, I try to carve out a little time for self-care. While I love working at home for myself, there are days when I realize at 5 pm that I haven’t moved all day and barely ate or drank anything (aside from my morning coffee). In an effort to be more mindful of my schedule, I’ve started incorporating “break time” into my days. The other thing that I do is make Monday a calibration day. Sometimes I use it to regroup after a busy weekend, while other times I use the morning to set myself up for the week. This week, however, I took the whole day to recalibrate and went to the barn to ride.
Initially, I thought I’d be stressed all week because I essentially took a long weekend. But it was actually quite the opposite. I was more productive during the remaining days of the week and accomplished everything I needed to do by the end of the week. I was so grateful to have that extra day to do something I love that it put me in a better headspace all week, which in turn boosted my productivity levels.
When you are your own boss, it can feel like every moment of your day needs to be a “billable hour.” But that kind of thinking leads to burnout. I tend to structure my days around client work, writing blog posts, and outreach, but I don’t feel like I need to work every minute of the day. A big reason I left my full-time job, was that I was burnt out from being a caregiver and working 9-to-5. Now, since I can have more control of my schedule, I like that I get to pick and choose when and how I work. There’s something about having a leisurely Monday that seems to work for me and my business, and I am so grateful for that flexibility.
So, if you’re your own boss, find things that work for you and can help you be the best version of yourself. That could be working out of your favorite coffee shop once a week, co-working with a friend, or working half a day on Fridays.
Let me know in the comments if you do anything like this…and if it helps!
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