Helping You Lead with Perspective
Calling all "Exhausted" Entrepreneurs and Leaders
Thursday 30th April 2020
Core Beginnings
According to Joseph Bienvenu, a psychiatrist and director of the Anxiety Disorders Clinic at Johns Hopkins Hospital, busyness has become a widespread health issue “Emotional distress due to overbusyness manifests as difficulty focusing and concentrating, impatience and irritability, trouble getting adequate sleep, and mental and physical fatigue.”
When everyone said lockdown, people scrambled to do the online remote working, entrepreneurs started to up their game as clients recoiled and their time became their own once again, but the question is, is this a time to work like mad or a time to reflect and actually rest? I am receiving email after email from other people inviting me to Facebook workshops, zoom calls, and then another training at the end of the week, and then receiving those additional emails “if you don’t sign up you’ll be left behind…” Honestly, it actually caused some anxiety so I had to switch off LinkedIn feeds and also stop opening emails. I just need to rest. Entrepreneurs work sometimes up to 22 hours a day to get keep their businesses afloat or make them visible on a normal day so why do we have to increase all your energy on lockdown? Basically, YOU DON’T!! Success is important but so is our health.
Dependent on where you are in the game it is important to recognise this for yourself and realise if you are mentally, physically and emotionally exhausted, it is a time to heal this and spend time offering yourself time to recuperate and regroup.
During the lockdown, crime has significantly reduced as of heart attacks. Start-up organisations and entrepreneurs are some of the most hardworking leaders I have worked with and experienced, watching them put their heart and soul in making their businesses thrive, through lack of cashflow, limited staff, gaining new clients, being their own marketer, accountant, and PA in the confinements of their own minds. The pressure to succeed is enormous, but with the lockdown, this is a time to really disengage and give yourself that boost if you have been working, both day and night, 7 and sometimes 8 days a week if the universe allowed, however, with a reduced amount of sleep it can lead to the following according to health.com;
• Inflammation is linked to heart disease, stroke, diabetes, arthritis, and premature aging.
Research indicates that people who get less sleep—six or fewer hours a night—have
higher blood levels of inflammatory proteins than those who get more.
• A 2010 study found that C-reactive protein, which is associated with heart attack risk, was
higher in people who got six or fewer hours of sleep a night.
• People who have sleep apnea or insomnia can have an improvement in blood pressure
and inflammation with treatment of the sleep disorders, Dr. Rapoport says.
(Ref: https://www.health.com/condition/sleep/11-surprising-health-benefits-of-sleep)
Exhaustion opens a leader up to mental health issues, illness and when burn out or a breakdown is on the horizon, it is rarely understood when slow down and reduce working a full capacity. The respect for people like us is when we are hanging out with Bill Gates, Oprah and Jeff Bezos but the work it takes to get to even be in the same room with these thought leaders is a winnable challenge, where significant and sufficient amounts of rest are imperative.
COVID19 has taught large corporations to scale down, be more efficient, understand the benefits of a lean flat organisation and also recognise the weakest players. However, for the small businesses and entrepreneurs it has taught us that when we are working hard, it doesn’t stop at 5pm and starts again the next day at 9am…..there is no end.
Being kind to yourself at this time will improve your health completely in ways you never realised you were deprived. Recommendations on self care for start-ups and entrepreneurs;
- Officially take a two-week staycation – Put your out of office on
- Sleep as much as you require and do not feel guilty about well needed rest
- Spend time doing something you love e.g., laying on the floor and listening to Bon Jovi at
high volume, watching old movies from your early twenties.
- Actually enjoy alcohol and relax rather than it being consumed in a business meeting
- DO NOT LOOK AT ANY EMAILS (Yes this is an order!!)
- SWITCH OFF YOUR WORK PHONE (Yes this is another order!!)
- Simply do you..
So, I say to the all entrepreneurs, rest is a part of your success. Remember when you say yes to others you imminently say no to yourself! You are your greatest asset so use this time wisely and rest.
Upwards….
Also you can find this article on; https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/calling-all-exhausted-entrepreneurs-leaders-sandra-addae