Feelings of inspiration and the thrill of creating something new are addictive. It’s simple to fall into a never-ending pursuit of them as an entrepreneur or artist, driven by a desperate need to see your ideas come to fruition.
Naturally, this explains why so many business owners are successful. It’s because we’re prepared to take a step back and revise anything until it suits our ideal client or audience.
This may sound dramatic, but it’s not only normal; it’s a rite of passage for entrepreneurs who burn the candle at both ends. Are you truly an entrepreneur if you haven’t put in long hours every day and gone above and beyond to make your firm successful? And this way of living poses the question: can we maintain our mental health while pursuing an entrepreneurial career?
The Work-Life Balance Myth
Any self-employed individual will probably laugh at you if you ask them about work-life balance. Even if they do take a day or two off, they probably won’t be truly absent. In addition to checking their emails and responding to direct messages, they also make sure that none of their clients are experiencing a problem and that their staff is keeping things running smoothly.
The constant need and the fear that anything can go wrong without you knowing can be crippling which is why so many entrepreneurs are glued to their phones or offices. It’s what leads to stress dreams and frequently makes entrepreneurs just go to work, get home, and go to bed.
No one’s mental health can endure this pattern, and the only way to “fix” it is within. No one will tell you to relax or that they will handle everything for the next several days if you are the driving force behind a business. The only way you can do it is by good recruiting practices and well-established processes.
The Highs and Lows of Entrepreneurship
Why, therefore, do we subject ourselves to it? This is because there are a lot of highs. You’re hooked as soon as someone purchases your concept. Entrepreneurs sell one business and launch their next right away because they feel that they have created something from nothing and turned it into a viable enterprise.
It’s worth all those long hours to know that you’re the reason for your achievement and that your creations have improved the lives of others.
So, as an entrepreneur, is there a way to safeguard your mental well-being? Thankfully, the answer is yes. Although we will always experience ups and downs in our mental health, there are certain things we can do to prevent ourselves from feeling as though we are waiting for calamity to strike.
Read more about Lessons Learned from Successful Entrepreneurs: Insights for Aspiring Business Owners
How to Protect Your Mental Wellness as an Entrepreneur
Establish working hours
This applies to your day as well as your tasks. The amount of time it takes you to finish chores will decrease if you schedule your time for them. If you know you can finish a task in fifteen minutes, give yourself twenty minutes to complete it. If you give yourself the whole day, it will take the whole day.
Include breaks
Try the Pomodoro method of time management if you haven’t already. Here, you work for a set period of time before taking a break. It’s customary to work for 25 minutes and then take a 5-minute break, but many people find that the most productive cycle is 30 minutes of work followed by 5 minutes of rest. Try and find out what works best for you.
Make sure you have a hobby
If everything you do is focused on your career and business, you won’t feel like you can get away from it and will eventually burn out. For a week or two, burnout may seem like tiredness; in other cases, it may cause people to become unwell or give up completely. To avoid this from happening, give yourself time to enjoy the things you like doing or creating as a form of self-care.
Make time for yourself every morning
You don’t have to have a fantastic morning routine, but if you respond to emails just before bed and if it’s also the same thing you do when you wake up, your mind will never have time to simply exist and process. Spend 30 minutes waking up in the morning and setting your phone to do not disturb. Take a half-hour (or longer!) to take care of yourself after checking for emergencies if you feel the need to.
Summing up
Making something new is appealing, but in the sake of “finishing,” it can cause us to neglect all other facets of social interaction and self-care. The problem with business is that there is never a final product. You will be rushing from one “last minute assignment” to the next because there is no set deadline for your project.
Putting distance between you and your present primary source of income is the only way to fight this and save your creativity in the long run. Although creating this space is challenging, it is essential for both our mental well-being and our ability to produce.
