Many of us have made the exciting transition from an office job to being an entrepreneur.
I often lament on how different my life was working in an office – actual lunch breaks!! I would often take breaks from my desk, paid bills at lunchtime or simply a stroll in the city.
When I decided to pursue my entrepreneurial dreams, at first I had so much time for self-care it was AWESOME. But as my business grew I discovered I struggled to fit time in for myself as the days flew by in a busy blur.
This only increased as my workload increased and my self-care practices during my office days needed to be scheduled in or I risked running out of physical and mental energy.
How do you add in 5 minutes of self-care a day, every day?! Here are my five faves:
1. Planning the day ahead
I take 5 minutes at the start of my day to make a plan whilst enjoying a green juice or my new 'experiment' with bulletproof coffee (ask me in a few weeks my conclusion on this one).
I write down the three most important things that need doing from my weekly master list, then I leave the rest as “nice to do’s”.
This single trick completely turned my old habits of overwhelm around.
It's so important to be honest that I'm unlikely to get more than 3 key tasks a day done - and so I plan for that instead of causing unnecessary stress.
2. Set an alarm on your phone
I used to sit at my desk and power through the day, only really stopping for quick bathroom breaks.
This is not healthy for your physical body or mind, so I started to set a regular alarm on my phone to remind me to take short breaks and move my body.
I've talked in other posts about how I use the productivity app '30/30 ' but sometimes the simple alarm on my phone also does the trick nicely.
3. Get fresh air
I try and get a burst of sun each day, even if I take my laptop outside and work for a while.
It is too easy to spend the whole day locked inside my office, so I’ll even make phone calls sitting on my balcony or go for a quick walk down to the beach and back.
It’s surprisingly re-energising to be in nature especially after exposing ourselves to electronics all day.
Whenever I can I take a full hour out to walk around the clifftop from Bondi Beach to Bronte Beach in the afternoon - this is great for clearing my head and energy on busy days.
4. Put your legs up the wall
Yup, this feels awesome!
This simple yoga pose will clear your mind and provide a much-needed energy boost!
Simply take 5 minutes and lay on the floor with your butt against the wall, legs straight up in the air resting on the wall. On my recent yoga retreat, I really grasped the power of this pose like never before.
If you do just one thing for yourself each day - make it this. Five minutes will make you feel like you’ve had a long afternoon nap – seriously!
5. Stretch
I cannot stress this essential practice enough – stretch every hour. Even if it’s for one minute, stretching your arms, neck, legs – everything, is essential to give your mind a break and realign your posture.
Especially if, like me, you work on your laptop from wherever it might feel comfy - couch? bed? beach? My personal trainer must have drilled this into me twice a week for about a year before I finally took it on board - now it is a must every day and my body is oh so happy for it.
If you gave yourself just 5 minutes of self-care each day, what would you do? Let me know your favs in the comments below.
Love,
Amanda xx
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