How To Look After Yourself As A Small Business Owner Who Works From Home

By Amanda Hughes | The Small Business Community

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How To Look After Yourself As A Small Business Owner Who Works From Home

As a mum (twin mum no less) who works from home I have to admit that I recently fell into some pretty bad habits, some are even gross, which meant I just wasn't looking after myself as a small business owner who works from home.

Let's get into what they are and what I'm doing about them.

A snapshot of my life as business owner, wife, twin mum and dog mum!

Ok let's get the super gross one out the way first.

One of my morning non negotiables is to brush my teeth. I know, I know.. this shouldn't be something I have to work on but, here's what can easily happen to my morning as a work from home mum and small business owner.

I focus on getting my 5 year old twins up, washed, fed, dressed and out to school in the morning. Come home, sit at my desk and boom, before I know it it's late morning and I haven't even brushed my teeth let alone ate or washed my face! Does this sound completely alien to you or am I not alone if we're all being honest? Don't leave me hanging please! Come find this post on Instagram and let me know. So here's what's becoming my work from home best practice, the non-negotiables I stick to before I go near my desk.

For me, good habits are about setting both physical and digital boundaries, transitioning from mum mode to work mode way before I ever touch my phone or laptop.

• Brush my teeth

• Splash my face with fresh, cold Scottish water from the tap

• Shake and make all beds

• Open all windows (regardless of the weather)

These might sound small, but they're the sort of work-life boundaries I need to signal to my brain that home time is over and work time is beginning while making sure I'm looked after too. Once I've got my kids out to school and I return home this is what's on the agenda because if you work from home and run your own business, looking after yourself doesn't just happen, you have to plan it in.

• Pop all the ingredients into my mixer for my morning smoothie

• Before I hit blend I do minimum 10 worktop press ups in the kitchen

• Make my smoothie (recipe at the bottom of the blog)

Sit on the sofa and plan my day (blog on this process next?)

As part of this plan I will factor in minimum 10k steps for that day too, preferably outside. This isn't some 30 day fad, this is me forming new habits for life and I have to give a big shout out to my sister, Midlife Lifestyle and Strength Coach @risestrongwithsusan who helps keep me accountable every day! These habits are not only essential for maintaining my personal quality of life, they're essential for my business growth too. A foggy, unbrushed version of me isn't showing up well for anyone.

If I've not splashed my face with water in the morning (I'm an evening shower-er which is a whole ritual in itself) it doesn't signal to my body that we're awake and ready to start work. Instead, I'm stuck in some sort of limbo groggy fog.

Doing my 10k min steps per day too also helps me keep fit doing an exercise I actually enjoy. Small business owner wellbeing doesn't have to mean expensive routines, equipment or radical 5am wake ups (thank f*ck) sometimes it's just brushing your teeth before school drop-off.

That's why I'd love to hear what you do to make sure you're looked after in this Instagram post.

What you share might just be what another business owner needs to hear to turn their days around. Recipe for my morning smoothie: 1 Banana Handful frozen blueberries Half fill with water 1 scoop Free Soul Protein Powder 1 scoop Free Soul Creatine Blend Add 1 sachet Absolute Collagen raspberry flavour 1 TBSP Sweet Bee Elderberry Elixir 1 TSP pre soaked basil seeds Enjoy! P.s Grab a discount on lots of my smoothie ingredients and other awesome stuff here