For entrepreneurs, ownership and the responsibilities that come with it often mean you are left to manage multiple aspects of the business.
This creates a lot of stress for small business owners. Even freelancers who are selling their web designing services feel the crunch of the work, too.
Unfortunately, not all entrepreneurs are conscious about their health. For example, how often do you get your blood pressure checked?
The U.S. Center for Disease Control estimates that at least one in three Americans experience symptoms of hypertension in regular occurrence throughout the course of their day.
Much of it can be attributed to poor lifestyle choices such as irregular sleeping patterns, bad food, poor time management, or a glaring lack of exercise — all experienced by small business owners.
The accumulated stress can weigh down even the most sophisticated entrepreneurs in today’s economy.
The following are proven life hacks for healthy living that you can adopt in order to lower your blood pressure and improve your health.
1. Adopt a greener diet
A hectic work schedule can often get in the way of achieving what modern-day “herbal” experts and other health zealots call “green or healthy living,” but even a busy entrepreneur has time to sit down for a healthy meal and some herbal tea.
This slight deviation from your normal routine will eventually encourage other health-conscious moments throughout the course of your day.
2. Reduce intake of harmful substances
Alcohol and cigarette intake tend to increase with high stress levels. This creates a destructive pattern that only worsens your blood pressure.
To stay awake during long working days, you may even drink too much coffee. This also serves to heighten high-stress situations and hamper smart and decisive decision-making.
In order to avoid taking harmful substances in your body, remember to:
- Get enough sleep.
- Detox regularly.
- Carry a bottle of water to stay hydrated particularly if you move around a lot during the day.
3. Change your workplace ambiance
What does your workplace look like? Your immediate environment plays a significant role on your mental state and a nondescript regular office can be as bad as a stuffed, clumsy environment.
Here’s what you can do:
- Purchase a real plant for the office and place it within your line of sight.
- Hang a picture or painting — go for simple nature types or bright and colorful if it matches your personality.
- Redecorate your work space to create a cool and comfortable working environment.
4. Take up a healthy activity
Can you spare an hour of your time every once in a while to go swimming or play squash with friends?
These are fun and simple distractions that allow you to step outside of work-mode and enjoy time with friends and family.
Your options include walking, cycling, listening to music, or going to the theater.
5. Adopt a pet
If things like morning meditation and the lotus position don’t work for you, how about adopting a cat or a sweet-natured dog breed; it might not be too bad.
In fact, animals are good not only for company but also for promoting healthy living, particularly for people with stressful jobs; indeed, small business owners have the most stressful jobs of all!
Bonus Tip: Exercise
A regular exercise routine can do a lot to lower stress levels and it doesn’t have to include grueling hours of weightlifting.
Simple things like taking the stairs or walking for thirty minutes in the evening can be good for your muscles and it is therapeutic as well.
If you can’t manage full gym membership, try to commit at least 30 minutes of your day to walk or run and be consistent in order to instill the new activity into your healthy living routine.
Contact your doctor for long-term solutions to extreme stress and pay attention to how your body reacts to stress. Things like insomnia can indicate higher stress levels so watch out for irregular sleeping patterns and shortened sleep cycles.
A successful small business owner — or even just a freelancer offering web designing services — experiences major challenges throughout the day.
By learning to cope with stressful situations, and living a healthy lifestyle as laid out in this article, you can ensure your focus on your business without the resulting negative effect on your health and life.
Ready to take your business online? Use Bookmark’s sitebuilder to get you started.
Originally published at www.bookmark.com on September 22, 2016.
