With little exception, every small business owner moves expeditiously from one event to another throughout the day. There’s little or no time to grab a cup of coffee, let alone give your brain a chance to recovery. Is this a good thing in the high-performance world in which we live?

We don’t think so! 

If you’ve been in business for any amount of time, you know the kind of grueling schedule to which I’m referring. You go from one meeting into another – immediately. You move from one call to another – with nary a breath in between. You toggle between one project and another – with just enough time to relieve your bladder – if you’re lucky. And you’re surprised when you fall into your Lazy Boy at the end of day – utterly exhausted – barely able to string two words together?

You shouldn’t be. Your brain is toast! 

Whether it’s decision fatigue, spontaneous juggling of multiple activities, overwhelm and overcommittment, or all of the above, its eminently apparent – someone needs a nap. 

Busier is Not Better

In fact, on any given day, there’s so much coming at small business owners, its difficult to process. This continual inundation of information is attention draining. Always being “on”…

• kills creativity,
• dampens decision making,
• impairs memory,
• diminishes performance,
• slows response time, and
• destroys focus.

Yet, we continue to forge ahead even though we know we’re on empty.

No surprise there! We’ve become accustomised to working through dulled senses and stagnant energy. Unless we’re willing to replenish our ability to work, performance will lag behiind what we want – or need. 

Take a Brain Break

More and more studies explain how some of the most gifted artisits and athletes sustain high levels of performance.

For instance, Psychologist K. Anders Ericsson, who studied high performers for over 30 years, discovered that most people can push themselves beyond their limits for only about an hour without rest. In fact, Ericsson stated, “Unless the daily levels of practice are restricted, such that subsequent rest and nighttime sleep allow the individuals to restore their equilibrium, individuals often encounter overtraining injuries and, eventually, incapacitating ‘burnout.”

Ding! Ding! Ding! Does that ring a bell? Of course, it does…and we’ve known it for years.

Giving your brain an occasional break throughout the day refreshes and energizes you. It improves concentration, relieves stress, and promotes creativity. And, with motivation and energy restored, high levels of performance become sustainable.(Just ask any 2 year old!)

My advice for small business owners? Give your brain a break. Downtime means more uptime.

What strategies do you follow to ensure you maintain high performance?

https://synnovatia.com/strategic-business-consultations/Ask any entrepreneur for the tools to business growth and you’ll likely get the usual suspects—the right strategy, the right marketing, the right client, the right service. The list is endless.

What few small business entrepreneurs stop to consider is the impact that unusual, offbeat, unsuspecting tools have on growing one’s business….like these.

Take a Nap

My parents were big nappers. A 20-minute nod found them refreshed and ready to take on the rest of the day. Apparently, they were on to something scientific.

Since that time, the benefits of sleep—in particular, napping—such as improved focus, greater clarity, and accuracy have been cited in numerous studies. In fact, Nap Your Way to Better Performance (You Snooze, You Win!) spells out the results of research by several well-known entities.

Dr. Peter Walters, associate professor in the applied health science department at Wheaton College in Wheaton, Ill., says that there is conclusive evidence of a correlation between sufficient sleep and mental acuity, especially logical and critical thinking.

Can you imagine what you could achieve with greater sharpness in critical thinking and mental clarity? (You may want to think about this during your nap!)

There’s an app for that: Get the Power Nap App here.

Exercise

Did I lose you? I know! It can be hard to “justify” time for exercise when we can put that time into marketing, bookkeeping, and/or networking. Physical fitness does, however, have an impact on your business.

In Improve Your Bottom Line and Waistline, we cite a study conducted with over 350+ entrepreneurs that prove that entrepreneurs who incorporate running and biking into their exercise regime demonstrate a significant improvement in growth for your business.

The news gets better!

Scientific advancements in exercise physiology how that high intensity interval training creates a significant increase in heart rate—and endorphins—during a time frame appealing to entrepreneurs (i.e., 20–30 minutes).

What entrepreneur doesn’t love to maximize results in as little time as needed.

There’s an app for that: Get the Tabata Pro app here.

De-stress

Sounds impossible, doesn’t it? That’s because it’s easy to believe that stress is a normal part of growing your business…but it doesn’t have to be.

Forbes recently noted that “workplace stress may contribute up to $190 billion in health-care expenses and over 120,000 deaths each year.” Yikes! No high-performing business owner wants to be part of this statistic!

You don’t have to be a buddhist monk to cash in on the many benefits of meditation. In fact, there are well-over 76 scientific benefits of meditation including stress reduction, greater bounce-back-ability, better mood, and more optimism.

There’s an app and a program for that: Download the Buddify app here or the Relax Melodies app here. Sign up for the 10 Day Mind Cleanse program here.

Proper Nutrition

We already know that no Olympic athlete achieves greatness—or their goals—on a diet of gummy bears and fast food. Yet, we sometimes think we’re immune to the ravages of poor nutrition.

“Food has a direct impact on our cognitive performance,” says Harvard Business Review in an article entitled, What You Eat Affects Your Productivity. “A poor decision at lunch can derail an entire afternoon.”Bye, bye, business growth!”

Unless, of course, you’re as strategic about your nutrition as you are about business growth. Consuming 7–9 servings of fruits and vegetables throughout the day improves memory and mood. It also plays a singificant role in motivation and engagement.

There’s an app for that: Download Fooducate here.

Business Growth Strategy: Bizarre or Brilliant?

Self-care is not only an effective business growth strategy—one often forgotten by countless entrepreneurs—it is a powerful growth strategy. With greater clarity, improved memory, mental sharpness, lazer-like focus, inspired optimism, and sustainable energy, can you imagine what you will achieve?

Learn what you can achieve with a business coach here or click below to have a coach contact you today.