The new year is a bit mental if you’re a business owner, which is why we’ve put together these 7 simple ways to look after yourself.

In an ideal world, you’d be coming back from the Christmas break refreshed, recharged and filled to the brim with enthusiasm.

In reality, you are probably tired from a busy Christmas, still not mentally over the madness that was 2022 and overwhelmed by the sheer volume of “New Year, New Me” posts online 😳

Business gurus will be telling you that now is the time to reflect, plan and set goals.

Online will be guilting you into joining a gym, booking a holiday or reading 702 books before April…

But we’re not about that. We want to make a little hideaway bunker online that you can use to take a minute.

Take a minute to realise it’s okay not to be cartwheeling into 2023, while also knowing it is going to be better👍

Not because it’s a new year but because this is the year that you will cut yourself sum slack and take care of yourself as a business owner.

So, here are 7 simple ways to look after yourself as a business owner – Mentally, physically and any other ‘ally’ you need in the new year.

7 Simple Ways To Look After Yourself As A Business Owner In The New Year

1) Get enough sleep😴

One of the best ways to look after yourself as a business owner is to make sure you’re getting enough sleep. We’re dads here at ChadStone, so we get that this is sometimes out of your control. But where you can, this helps loads.

Ways that have helped us get more sleep:

Having some kind of night-time routine – Even if it’s no phone after 9pm. Just having a consistent thing that tells your brain it’s time to start winding down.
Reading before bed – Especially a business book – They will send you right off😉

2) Eat healthily🍎

This is again easier said than done if you’re crazy busy. But making time for this is key.

Junk food, although tasty, quick and easy, makes you feel worse and sluggish throughout the working day.

Ways that have helped us eat better throughout the working day:

Meal prepping – Not body builder style but making sure our breakfast and lunch are prepped the night before is the way forward.
Having a fruit box in the office – It is now so easy for us all to snack on fruit so we do! (Thank you Lucy and Colin from Human Everything for helping us implement this as part of our new wellbeing strategy)
Always having a pint of water on our desk.

3) Get moving🤸‍♂️

This is a game changer for you both mentally and physically.

As a business owner, it can be tough to find the time to exercise, but making it a regular part of your routine can help reduce stress and anxiety, and give you more energy throughout the day.

If you’re predominantly at a desk like us, this is something you’re going to have to make a conscious effort with, as getting our step count to 2000 is a win most days!

Ways we’re being more active at work:

Having a walk at lunchtime
Having individual step goals
Making more tea and coffee rounds ;)

4) Take some time out for yourself☕️

Work can be all-consuming, but it’s important to take some time out for yourself every day. This sounds like a lot but it isn’t, we promise.

Whether it’s reading a book, going for a walk, or just having 5 minutes by yourself with a cuppa in the meeting room, you’ll feel a lot better.

Ways that help us:

Having a walk at lunchtime
Being strict on having lunchbreaks away from our desk
Time-blocking slots for yourself in your diary so it can’t be booked for meetings, etc.

5) Delegate and outsource🖥️

It’s easy to get overwhelmed by the sheer amount of work that needs to be done. But the awesome news is…You don’t have to do it all yourself!

This lesson probably takes the longest to learn as a business owner but it really is a game-changer.

Ways you can do this at work:

If you have a team – Trust them! Our team is constantly blowing us away with their capability and initiative. This is only able to happen because we trust them to take tasks off our plates and to ask if they need support.
Whether you have a team or not, outsource things that aren’t your job – These are areas like marketing, accountancy, bookkeeping, cleaning, etc.

6) Surround yourself with good people👌

Starting and running a business can be lonely. It’s easy to feel overwhelmed and lost at times.

Make sure you have a strong support network around you, whether it’s family, friends, or fellow business owners who understand what you’re going through.

Talking with people who understand where you’re coming from helps a lot, and you’ll find it much easier to cope with any issues and stresses you might be facing.

Ways that help us do this:

Attending our monthly networking events – This isn’t even a shameless plug, they really do help and we created them exactly for this. We wanted to create a space where business owners can network without the pressures of sales pitches.

We have two monthly networking events:

On the first Monday of every month, we have our Book Club. We put food and drink on for all attendees and discuss a business book we gave ourselves a month to read.
On the third Thursday of every month, we have Thirsty Thursday. This is where we meet at a local pub for business owners just to have a chat – No business cards or sales pitches. It’s super informal and relaxed.

If these sound like what you are looking for, you can find out more, and when our next one is, on our events page here.

7)Take some time to reflect📝

It’s important to know where you’re at, review the past and plan for the future. However, there is a way you can do this without it having to take a whole day or feel overwhelming.

Ways that can make this actually enjoyable:

Go somewhere new to do this – A coffee shop or library
List the cool stuff that’s happened in the last year – There will be way more than you think once you get going.
List things that haven’t aligned with you – Are there recurring things that always cause you stress or you find yourself procrastinating over? Record these so you can look at ways to get these off your plate.
Set goals for the next quarter – These are easier to manage and factor in time/ways you’re going to achieve them. They will feed your overall goals anyway and aren’t as overwhelming as looking at the whole year.

In summary, running a business can be tough, but it’s a heck of a lot easier if you’re taking care of yourself.

We hope these 7 simple ways of taking care of yourself as a business owner have helped! If you try any, or have any others for us, let us know!

In the meantime:

Check out when our next networking events are here
Get your hands on more ways to cut yourself sum slack by joining our monthly mailer – Sumthing To Say (finance pun intended!) is our monthly news bulletin full of finance tips, business hacks, free resources, hilarity, memes and more…👌

Take it easy.

Rob, Al & Led