As a professional health and performance coach working solely with entrepreneurs, I have seen habits within my healthiest and most successful clients that separate them from the majority of entrepreneurs. Here are the 6 mistakes the healthiest entrepreneurs do not make.
#1 Binge Drink
Speaking on behalf of every entrepreneur under the age of 30. Most of us don’t do moderation too well.
We binge work. We binge eat. We binge exercise. We binge socialize. We binge. Period.
The one thing that the healthiest entrepreneurs don’t do on a consistent basis is binge drink.
As entrepreneurs, the most precious resources we have are our time and energy.
Excessive alcohol depletes our bodies of nutrients leaving us low energy and missing out on a ton of productive work time.
Healthy Entrepreneur Action Item: If you’re going to drink alcohol – moderate your consumption. Otherwise it’s going to take a whole lot longer for you to get where you’re trying to go!
#2 Skip meals
You pull your head out of your work for a moment and you realize you are absolutely starving. Your first instinct is to grab the fastest and most convenient option. This probably isn’t the healthiest option either, is it? Sound familiar?
Most entrepreneurs get caught up working for 6-8 hours straight and completely forget to eat. When you do so, your body goes into starvation mode and sends a signal to your brain to eat something that is going to supply your brain with instant energy. That instant energy fix usually comes in the form of a simple carbohydrate.
These types of carbs are great for quick energy, but are not great for maintaining a healthy body weight. Do this often enough and you’ll end up with a nice little belly.
Another down fall of going so long without eating is that your brain isn’t getting the nutrients it needs to function optimally, so you will not be as effective as you would be eating periodically.
Healthy Entrepreneur Action Item: Eat a healthy meal every 3-4 hours.
#3 Multi task
The quickest way to drain your battery is by trying to do too many things at once. Ultimately you don’t get much productive work done and you start to experience overwhelm.
Healthy Entrepreneur Action Item: Use a pomodoro app to work in 25 minute cycles. Work for 25 minutes on one task at a time, take a 5 minute break and repeat. If you want to change tasks wait until the end of the pomodoro so you don’t fragment your energy.
#4 Define self worth by business achievements
The healthiest entrepreneurs understand that their identity is not strictly defined by their achievements in business. They understand they are human beings separate from their businesses and as much as the business is their baby it will not dictate the value they place on their personal self worth.
Healthy Entrepreneur Action Item: Reflect on all of the things you’re proud of in your life that make you unique and are separate from your business.
#5 Skip on sleep
The fastest way to burn out is by skipping on sleep. Though it may be tempting to log those extra hours working – know there is going to be a trade off in the quality of work you are able to do.
Swap out the extra hour of work with an extra hour of sleep and you will be much more effective and happy when you do get back to work.
Healthy Entrepreneur Action Item: On average try to get at least 7-8 hours of sleep a night.
#6 Binge on stimulants
Over doing it on stimulants like caffeine and nicotine can lead to adrenal fatigue. Adrenal fatigue can weaken your immune system and drain you of energy.
Healthy Entrepreneur Action Item: Try not to consume more than 1-2 cups of coffee. Make sure to cut off yourself off from stimulants at 3pm.
Try to eliminate at least of these unhealthy habits and watch as your energy and productivity skyrocket. The more you eliminate – the healthier you will be and the better you will perform.
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