5 things I learnt about self care when I nearly hit burnout
/At the end of September I took a short break from social media and from visibly running Isabella and Us. I was heading for burnout, I was exhausted both physically and mentally and I needed to take a break. So I did and it was the best thing I could of done, for my mind, my physical health, my family and my business.
So here’s 5 things I learnt about self care when I nearly hit burnout:
Taking a break doesn’t mean you are weak - I spent a good few weeks needing to take a break and not listening to what my body was telling me, because I thought people would think I was weak. But infact many people told me I was brave - brave to admit that I needed to take a break and to listen to what my body was telling me.
Taking away from your business does cost you sales but you can’t run a business well if you burn out - Whilst I was away sales did slow down, which is hard when you run a product based business, but my health and wellbeing is way more important. I couldn’t sustain the pace I was working at, whilst also trying to work full time, be a mum, a wife, a friend. Whilst I was off I was able to be way more productive than I had been for the month previous, even though I wasn’t really working.
Me being healthy and well is more important than anything - this is so true! You wouldn’t let you phone run out of charge without putting it back on to charge, you wouldn’t forget to water your plant to keep it alive, so why aren’t we looking after ourselves in the same way?
Take a break allowed me to clear my mind, re-focus and be more productive - I was so much more productive! I did things that had been on my mind for weeks or even months, I even made some big business decisions - Chris re-designed my logo, new stickers were printed, I re-did my office, re-did Isabella’s room, went spinning, wrote a few poems and lots of other bits too. But I also rested and taking that time away gave me space to breathe, space to re-focus and time to just be.
Taking time away allowed me to re-evaluate my life and what is important - It allowed me to think seriously about the things that are important, the things that need my attention early and that I need to get better at prioritising my time. I’ve also thought about when I do take time off from the business to make sure I’m able to stay healthy and keep my wellbeing in check.
So my advice? Listen to your body, don’t leave it till you get close to burning out like I did before you take action. A little self care every day, every week, every month goes a long way!
I also recorded a bonus podcast episode about nearly reaching burnout too and what I’ve done to help myself feel better. It’s available to listen over on ITunes, Spotify and the website too.
