3 simple ways to look after yourself like a boss
We are being pulled in multiple directions. We are bosses, leaders, employees, parents, spouses, siblings, friends to name a few. And those who we are connected to have greater needs than ever as we find our wellbeing under pressure on multiple fronts; career, financial, social, community and physical. I don’t know about you, but my brain is working overtime to figure out how I can solve all this uncertainty, and losing sleep in the process.
See, our brains don’t like the unknown. They are designed to keep us safe. Which is why we have between 12,000 to 40,000 negative thoughts a day. And often they are not new thoughts, instead they are the same ones going around and around again. For me these include (and not limited to) will I have a business at the end of this, will my parents be OK, will we ever be able to go back to the way things were.
It is important more than ever as leaders of people, we need to look after ourselves. This is because we need to look after others and many eyes are looking for some certainty and hope whatever little there is. We can’t do this if we feel overwhelmed.
To keep it simple, I use three techniques that I picked up from Julia Cameron’s book The Artists Way, and I suggest them often to the leaders I work with to slow down and get perspective. These are to:
Go for regular walks. In my corporate days I used to a do a loop around the buildings I worked in. If you can’t move breathing can help too. I really like the box breathing technique navy seals use see https://time.com/4316151/breathing-technique-navy-seal-calm-focused/
Journal. When I started doing this it was a game changer. Clear your mind by brain dumping/journaling = open up a word document on your computer, set a timer to a 10-minute countdown, type everything that comes through your mind. Don’t save the document once done OR write it out on paper and throw it away once done
Schedule a regular 1-hour per week which is about you to do whatever you like. This is where you are not a boss, employee, parent, spouse, child, sibling. It could be as simple as an afternoon nap, reading a book, having a good cup of coffee, watching something on Netflix (I’m Star Trekking right now).
Not only do these tricks keep bosses heads in the game, as an added benefit they give our brains a break to come up with new solutions to big problems. Our best ideas often come when we are not on the tools.
I’m on a daring mission to help bosses not to be a boss, but be THE BOSS of their people. A job is only as good as your boss and having been both on the giving and receiving end, I wish I had been given good insights and tools from the start. If you found the above useful, always happy to chat about what else could help you and your team.