Many entrepreneurs no longer want to trade success for their health, money for time with their families or a business at the expense of their passion.
With that, it’s more important than ever to devote yourself to improvement and success across all the facets of your life and not just toward your business alone. For example, developing a healthy exercise routine isn’t just good for your body, it’s a great opportunity to exercise your ability to keep personal commitments, improve personal discipline and hold yourself accountable for results. Don’t those all sound like they have great business implications as well?
Related: Like Running a Business, Getting in Shape Takes Lots of Small Steps to Succeed
Here are five ways to be healthy, wealth and wise across all aspects of your life.
1. Better boundaries. If you don’t have good boundaries, you’re not going to make it far in entrepreneurship or in life. The most successful people in life are those who know the power of no.
The first important step of developing better boundaries is to first decide what your core values are as a person and in business. Once you set the standards for how you want to operate personally and how you want your business to operate, you have to follow up that decision with action and keep them enforced.
For example, if you commit to your partner that Friday night is date night, you have to enforce the boundaries of your business creeping into your Friday nights. If you set the boundary that every morning from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. you’re at the gym, you can’t let your staff infringe on that boundary with early morning meetings.
In the same regard, you have to ask your friends and family to respect the boundaries you set for your working life and day, especially if your work starts from a home office. Set the rules for yourself and then stick to them, using the power of no as you need it.
2. Take breaks. Work styles vary, but one thing is certain, getting up away from the desk is important. Moving around helps reset your energy level and stimulate new thoughts. It also gets the blood flowing, which is good for the mind and body.
Don’t just stop at getting up from the desk, though. Breaks from work altogether are important. Make sure at least one day of your busy entrepreneurial week is reserved for a personal day. It’s crucial to disconnect from work for periods of time to rejuvenate your mind and body.
Entrepreneurship is a marathon, not a sprint, so if you don’t make time for yourself you’ll burn out. Take breaks and use the time to wisely reconnect to your creativity and passion.