369 | How to Practice Self-Care During a Busy Season with Katie Hunt
I'm coming to you on the heels of having a cold, and I'm here to remind you to take care of yourself. A lot is going on in the United States this week.
Plus, this time of year is hectic for all of my product-based business owners. I know you are working so hard and are likely wearing yourself out. I thought now would be a good time to share simple ways to practice self-care before and during a busy season.
Today’s episode is brought to you by our Proof to Product LABS coaching program. This is a coaching program specifically built for product-based business owners, with members from across industries and across the globe. We have member-only events inside of LABS, so request your invitation to join below!
Self-Care Tip #1: Listen to Your Body
First and foremost, we need to listen to our bodies. If you are having trouble sleeping, maybe you feel fatigued, you've had a shift in your appetite, or you're just generally feeling run down, do not ignore those cues.
Sometimes we feel physically rundown, and sometimes it's an emotional or mental exhaustion that kicks in. Pay attention to how you're feeling so you can get yourself back on track. Here are a few non-negotiable break time ideas to help you recuperate:
Go for a walk
Make yourself a cup of tea or a cup of coffee
Read
Watch some mindless TV for 15 minutes
Talk to a friend or a family member.
I like to personally go lay in the hammock in the backyard and just stare at the sky. I intentionally leave my phone inside so that I'm not tempted to look at emails or social media or do work from my phone.
Just a few minutes of mental rest can sustain you over a long workday.
Self-Care Tip #2: Get Enough Sleep
The next thing is you need to get enough sleep. I recently learned that men need 8 hours of sleep per night, but women need more. The article I read said that we need at least 10 hours of sleep each day, which made me laugh out loud because I am getting nowhere near that much sleep. I wish I was and I'm going to be trying to change that. But I will say that I do notice a huge difference in my mood, my patience. I also have a lot of great ideas when I get more sleep.
My brain is rested and I'm able to do a lot more during my workdays. I know it can be difficult to sleep well during a busy season or a stressful time, but sleep is truly a necessity for staying healthy. So if you're feeling run down, definitely try to get some extra Zs in where you can.
Self-Care Tip #3: Don’t Forget the Basics
Kind of along these same lines, we can't forget the basics, right? Like healthy food, drinking lots of water, taking our vitamins, just like sleep. These things are necessities for feeling good, and we are not going to feel good if we're dehydrated, eating bad food, or not taking care of ourselves.
Also tied to this is moving our body. During our busy seasons, working out, and moving our bodies can often fall to the bottom of a to-do list, but movement is so important for not only a healthy body but also a clear mind. If you can plan ahead and block off time to go to classes or pre-plan your workouts, great.
But if you don't have the time or space for that to map out a 1-hour workout, start small.
Do some stretches in the morning. Do some squats while you're packing orders. Turn on your favorite song in the office and do a dance party. I find when I gamify movement that is motivating for me. It helps me get my steps in. I even get the family involved! Our family competes to see who gets the most steps in each day.
My kids have it locked in between all their sports and practices and stuff, but it makes for a fun competition and it's a good reminder for me to get up and move when I'm at my desk. So definitely move your body. It'll clear your head too.
Self-Care Tip #4: Spend Time with Friends and/or Family
Studies have shown that spending time with family and friends can help reduce our stress. Hanging out with and talking with people gives us an outlet to relieve some of the worries, anxiety, or overwhelm that we might be feeling during a busy season.
Connecting with others, even if it's other business owners who are going through similar things, is impactful.
Send a text, pick up the phone and call, go meet in person, or even combine time with friends and family with moving your body.
Having these connections will also help to combat any feelings of isolation. I know that many of you listening work alone or with a small team. It’s especially important for you to connect with others to help you with that isolation feeling.
Self-Care Tip #5: Focus on Communication
Things can feel hectic during a busy season. When we are running in a million directions, that's when mistakes can be made or miscommunications can happen.
We want to avoid redoing work. Right? We don't want to package an order wrong and ship it out only to then have to have a bunch of conversations with the customer about it and then repack the order and resend it. Right?
We want to nip that in the bud ahead of time. Strong communication will allow us to do things right the first time.
This is also applicable to things at home. If we focus on communication at home, we won't have as many miscommunications that might negatively impact our relationships. There will be times when I think my husband is handling something and he thinks I'm handling that same project and we have miscommunication and then that creates extra strain on our schedule and our time constraints.
Focus on strong communication, whether you're talking to family members or team members, to ensure you’re all on the same page.
Self-Care Tip #6: Don’t Be Afraid to Say No
This one is a tough one for me, but I am getting better at it.
Say no to activities that drain you or things that you don't need to have your hands on or things that don't need to happen right now. Maybe it's something that could be delayed for a month or 2, a couple of weeks, a couple of days, or even a couple of hours. Be discerning in what you say yes to and what you say no to.
On the flip side, say yes to the activities that bring you joy, not just things that need to be done.
There are a lot of things pulling on our time and attention, particularly this time of year. Make sure that you're doing things that are not only necessary but that make you feel good and focus on that fun where you can.
I hope these tips have been a helpful reminder for you. Your mental, physical, and emotional health are super important to manage, particularly when you're in a busy season at home and work. I hope that you're currently taking good care of yourself and prioritizing your needs and that you will continue to do so as we finish out this year.
For our LABS members, let's continue this conversation in our community, pop over to LABS, and share what you are doing to keep yourself healthy during this busy season.
Plus, we have some really helpful resources that will help to ease your stress.
We have a prerecorded desk yoga and breath work session that you can turn on anytime you need a break. So that movement, the mindset stuff, it'll be great.
Plus, we have trainings on building tiny daily habits and effectively managing your time. All of that is available to you inside of LABS. You can find it in our training vault. And if you're not a member of LABS, come join us.
Connect with Katie Hunt
Katie Hunt is a business strategist, podcaster, mentor and mama to four. She helps product based businesses build profitable, sustainable companies through her conferences, courses and coaching programs.
Website: prooftoproduct.com | Instagram: @prooftoproduct
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