The One Essential Item on Your To-Do List That’s The Easiest to Forget
I was reminded of this item early this morning and every few months I get another reminder of it. This is the most important of tasks, but for anyone who is used to accomplishing a lot, it is also the thing that always is put off until it’s no longer possible.
I’m talking about taking care of YOU.
You’ve probably heard a number of other entrepreneurs say things like “I’ll sleep when I’m dead” or something to that effect, but the simple truth is that if you don’t take care of yourself, you won’t get anything done. When I was a teacher I also used to test my limits. I would have late nights doing theatre and early mornings taking classes. Short afternoon naps and non-stop hustling for weeks or even months at a time would always lead to my body being run down and eventually me getting sick. I’m blessed with a very strong immune system which means I rarely get sick, but when I do, it’s not pretty. Yesterday morning I woke up and was reminded of the fact that I have been pushing myself a little too hard and my immune system decided it was time for a break – whether I wanted to take one or not.
So I spent most of my day in bed. I probably slept more yesterday than in the past few weeks and I was again reminded that I’m not superhuman and that I too need ample rest, nutrition, and downtime. This got me thinking about the fact that there are probably many others out there like me who worry about their inbox piling up and their daily tasks not getting done to the point where they too push themselves a little too hard. For anyone who is reading this right now who is pushing themselves a little too hard, take it from me, you can’t keep it up forever and eventually your health catches up with you. My plan for the next few weeks is to listen to my body more and be more conscious of how much sleep I’m getting and what I’m doing to take care of me. I’d like to not have another day when I am completely incapacitated and I’m going to see what I can do to make that happen. If you are feeling like you might be getting to that place of burn out, I would suggest doing the same. It doesn’t take long to take stock of how things are going with your health, but it saves you a lot of down time later.
So if you’re going through your to-do list today and find that one essential item missing, I’d encourage you to add it on there.
Your body will thank you
And so will your business.
Excelsior!
