Tips on Staying Healthy This Busy Season
Staying healthy during the holiday season is a challenging ask for small business owners who are often at their busiest and most stressed.
But as challenging as it may be to fit in personal time and exercise, you must prioritize self-care. Your business needs you to be at your best, which means keeping up with your physical and mental health as you close out the holiday season and 2022.
You are your company's biggest asset, says a post by Startupgrind.
Most time, entrepreneurs aren't able to replace themselves, says the post, adding that missing an entire week due to being stuck in bed means an entire week's worth of production - a significant impact by year's end.
If this is one of your busiest seasons, staying healthy may be the furthest from your mind as you work longer hours, juggle staffing schedules and focus on sales and customers.
You may also have end-of-year tasks to wrap up and holiday-related personal commitments on your list these next few months.
It's true that being an business owner around the holidays is difficult, says a USA Today post by Rhonda Abrams, entrepreneur, columnist and author of Successful Business Plan: Secrets & Strategies.
Here are some useful suggestions on how to keep healthy this holiday season in order to be at your most productive.
Make Sleep A Priority
Depending on your industry and type of business, burning the night oil may be unavoidable this holiday season, when hours of operations are longer.
But sacrificing sleep can be harmful to your health.
Losing sleep can make you feel more tired, make you crave unhealthy foods, and keep you from exercising, writes physician anesthesiologist and entrepreneur Sanjana Vig in her blog for The Female Professional.
"Sleep is a key component of staying healthy during the holidays," Vig adds.
Aim For At Least Basic Exercise
Keeping up your regular exercise routine would be ideal, but this busy holiday season may be challenging.
If you can't fit in your regular workouts, be sure to find time for some physical activity outside of work, such as yoga or a quick walk -- doing so will help you fight off illness and stress.
"The best entrepreneurs understand that preparing your body physically will help you defend against illnesses and give you more stamina to last the long hours demanded by an entrepreneurial lifestyle," says the Startupgrind post.
Take Pause From Work
Don't let your to-do list talk you out of taking a break from work, cautions Meredith Wood in a post for AllBusiness, because a pause will help your mental health.
Put vacation time on your calendar and change your deadlines if necessary.
Don't make any concessions once you've set the plan for that break in motion, adds Wood.
You may need to face the fact that if something falls through, there will only be time for some things to get checked off your list. Therefore, identify items that can wait.
In spite of how well you prepare, finding the time to decompress over the holidays will likely require letting a few tasks slide—or at the very least, deferring them until January, says the AllBusiness post.
Make Healthy Snacks Handy
Expect and plan for a limited time for healthy meals. Stock up on your favorite healthy snacks/easy meal items to keep on hand for your busiest days.
Keeping nutritional foods and beverages in quick-access spots at your business, in your car, or even at home increases your chance of staying healthy and turning to other less healthy choices at your hungriest moments.