Being an entrepreneur means putting our dreams out there in the world.  Not allowing those who question us, disagree with us, or even disapprove of us to bring us down.  

Life as an entrepreneur can be lonely.  Most of the time we work from home, alone, and dedicate many hours a day to creating our dream life.  A vision that we so desperately love we sometimes put self-care on the back burner to get that one extra thing checked off our business to-do list. Many nights I have found myself working until midnight just to finish a passion project and waking up the next morning at 6 am, groggy from the lack of sleep I am allowing myself to have.

Self-care isn’t some passing craze.  It is giving ourselves the dedication that we give to our businesses so freely.  I didn’t realize the importance of self-care until I started adding it to my life.  I was one of those that believed I didn’t need to take care of myself.  That everyone and everything came before me.  I was burnt out, frustrated, and incapable of working my business the way it was meant to be run.  Our businesses suffer when we don’t put ourselves first.

I put self-care first on my list and I began to notice the changes.  Changes in my behavior towards myself and others.  Changes in the way I spoke to my kids.  Changes in the way I spoke about my business.  Changes in the way that I dressed, felt about myself and others, and how I managed my day.  The changes were incredible and everyone around me even began to notice.  

Self-care began to give me the confidence I needed to give my business the attention it deserved.  It means that I can give my clients the best of me, my followers the best of me, and my blog readers the best of me.  

Today I want to share with you 5 ways that you can incorporate self-care into your business.  Whether you work by yourself or with employees, this will help you to regain control and put yourself in among the important to-dos on your list.

5 WAYS TO INCORPORATE SELF CARE INTO YOUR BUSINESS

Time block.  

You may be wondering why this is number 1 on the list of adding self-care into your business.  Well, let me tell you.  You are an entrepreneur which means your business is a piece of you.  A piece of you that takes up time in your life.  Working during the day, after dinner, during your child’s bath, once they are sleeping.  Being an entrepreneur means that work NEVER really ends.  At the end of the day, you are the one responsible for your business and it is up to you to grow and expand it.  

By using time blocking, it can free up other parts of the day where you can add in play and some self-care. This allows you to be more focused and driven to get your business to do tasks completed.  You can do it as one big chunk or break it down into smaller chunks throughout the day.  I know personally I have to do smaller chunks throughout the day.  I have a 3-year-old at home so working for 4 hours straight isn’t an option while I am at home.  It may take a bit of time to figure out what schedule works but once you do, it will feel so much better.  Then you can also schedule in self-care.

Begin to use time blocking for everything that you do.  When you time block for work, write down the list of items that you need to complete in that time.  When you time block for family, write down what you are doing together.  When you time block for self-care, write down what you are going to do for self-care.  If you don’t give yourself specific tasks, especially when first starting with time blocking, you will soon find that you waste that time and have gotten nothing done.

Digital detox for 1 hour per day.

This is super important if you are an online entrepreneur.  We often get consumed and sucked into our phones and computers.  Working, reading, scrolling.  We lose track of time and realize that half of our day has disappeared because the online world swallowed us.  

This is incredibly important now.  I am finding that my attitude, my mindset, and my family are deeply affected by all the negativity that is filling my social media feed.  Even trying to keep all positive and empowering women and family on my social media platforms, the world still finds its way in and I can lose myself in all of that.  

Get your head out of all the screens and look up at the world.  Take a walk, play with your kids.  Doing a digital detox is all about living in the moment.  Making memories off-screen.  Shut off of your phone and put it somewhere that you just can’t grab it for that hour.  

Find a group of supportive women entrepreneurs.

We are all looking for connections.  Life can be lonely if we have no one in our life that we can turn to.  Having like-minded businesswomen in our circle creates a powerful connection.  Find a group of women where you feel like you belong.  A place that is safe for you to talk business, talk life, bounce ideas off of each other, and just be supportive of one another.

There are moments when we may think that in our business competition means that we can’t have connections.  There is no room for competition.  Women need to stand together, be strong, and support one another.  If you can’t find a group like that, create it.  Create a group where you get together once a month.  

A book club for business.

I am a huge lover of books and I recommend that every woman entrepreneur read business books.  There is power in knowledge and the insight that you gain through reading is endless.  Get together with a group of ladies and talk about the book that you read.  Meet once a month.  During open discussions, you will find that everyone took away something different from the book and will open your eyes even more to all that you can learn when you surround yourself with powerful women.

A few of the books that I recommend reading are:

• The Miracle Morning by Hal Elrod
• Leave Your Mark by Aliza Licht
• Carry on Warrior by Glennon Doyle Melton
• The Monk who Sold his Ferrari by Robin Sharma
• The Secret Letter of the Monk who Sold his Ferrari by Robin Sharma
• The Greatness Guide by Robin Sharma
• Taking the Leap by Pema Chödrön

Delegate tasks.

I know for me when I started my business, I didn’t realize all of the extra things that needed to be done.  Things that I am just not good at.  We are all created with a different set of skills and there is no need to pretend that we are good at something that we are not.  

Learning to delegate tasks that we don’t enjoy or that we just aren’t good at can relieve so much stress that we put on ourselves.  Delegating tasks doesn’t have to mean hiring someone. It can be an exchange of services with another entrepreneur, asking a friend or family member to watch your child while you get some work done, or hiring an expert where you really struggle.  Plus think of all the time that you will save delegating tasks that leave room for more self-care.

By creating a self-care routine into your business, you create boundaries.  You avoid business burnout and you fall in love with your passion again.  Learn to get out of work mode and into life mode.  Embrace the times where you can live in the moment.  These small changes will help you become a better entrepreneur and at the end of the day, we all want to live a version of life where we feel connected and as balanced as we can be.  

Samantha Laycock is a blogging coach for women and a freelance blogger for female entrepreneurs in the self-care industry.  She is a HUGE self-care and self-love advocate, sexual assault survivor, mother of 3, a wife of 14 years, and a believer in the power of sharing your story.  You can find her on Instagram and Facebook as @samanthalaycockblogging and on Pinterest as @samanthalaycockblogger