5 Health Pillars That Contribute To Your Overall Wellbeing as a Busy Business Owner
If you’re a business owner, CEO, high-level executive, parent, or really just someone with various personal and professional responsibilities, you know what it’s like to feel “busy.”
In today’s society, “busy” has almost become a state of mind and it’s easy to use our busyness as an excuse for all sorts of things in work and life.
From sacrificing our sleep to continue our to-do list, letting work interfere with our personal relationships, and even skipping meals or choosing less than healthy options to get through the day, busyness tends to steal what’s truly good for us.
I’m super guilty of these things too, so just know that you’re not alone!
From personal experience, I know what it’s like to feel too busy to log off work and actually enjoy a healthy dinner with your family.
I know what it’s like to skip lunch because you have a work project you need to attend to.
And I definitely know what it’s like to reach for that cup of coffee first thing in the morning with the hopes of that fueling you through your busy day.
I’ve been there and I can honestly say that when you let busyness win, your health undoubtedly starts to suffer.
Here’s the thing that I want you to understand: no matter where you’re at in life, there will always be a part of it that feels “busy.”
It’s not really anything you ever escape.
Newly married with no kids? Busy!
New parents to a precious baby? Busy!
Just started your side business while still working a 9-5? Busy!
Quit your job to fully pursue your passion? Busy!
I could go on and on, but I think you know what I mean.
Although you can’t ever fully escape the busyness of life and work, you CAN learn to manage and take control of it so that your health doesn’t fall to the wayside.
Generally, there are five pillars of health to consider and as a registered nutritionist that helps people raise their health status, I want to help YOU understand each of these and provide a few ways to manage and control each pillar so you can experience life at an optimal level – regardless of how busy you may be.
The Five Pillars That Impact Your Physical, Emotional and Mental Health
1. Nutrition
Starting off strong with my personal favourite: nutrition.
Your nutrition is a key health pillar that contributes to your physical, emotional and mental wellbeing.
When life or work gets busy, this is typically one of the first things that starts to go for people.
Late nights at the office result in frequent fast food visits, busy work days result in skipping meals, lack of sleep results in relying on coffee and other caffeine to get you through the day.
It’s a slippery slope that can be extremely hard to bounce back from, which is why I’m personally dedicated to making sure that people don’t fall into this in the first place.
The reason I’m so passionate about this pillar specifically is because your nutrition directly affects the other four pillars.
If you aren’t fuelled with proper nutrition, you won’t have energy for your exercise.
If you’re relying on too much caffeine and neglecting whole foods, you’ll likely be restless and experience less than optimal sleep each night.
Your food choices directly impact things like hormones, blood sugar levels and energy levels which all can contribute to how your body manages stress.
And finally, all of these things combined will take a toll on you mentally and start to impact your emotional wellbeing and how you interact with others.
THIS is why nutrition must come first and the good news is that it’s one of the easiest pillars that YOU can take control of!
Think about it: there’s not a knob in your body that you can magically turn up the dial on and suddenly feel more energetic.
It’d be great if it worked that way, but we both know that doesn't exist.
What you CAN do is control the types of foods you’re eating to ensure that that internal knob (that doesn't technically exist) gets turned up naturally so you feel and perform your best!
2. Movement
Next up, movement.
I’m sure you’ve heard it said for most of your life that regular physical activity is crucial for maintaining good health, but as a busy person you might find it hard to fit in this pillar to your schedule.
I completely understand this!
When your day is filled with meetings, project deadlines, parental responsibilities and – let’s be real – just regular life things, the last thing you want to do at the end of your busy day is hit the gym.
I used to feel this way too… UNTIL I learned how exercise benefits my body beyond just the physical aspect.
Research has shown that exercise can enhance your mood, reduce stress, improve your brain function, decrease anxiety, AND aid in better sleep.
All things that are highly important to you as a business owner, right?!
While you might not have time to fit in a 45 minute gym session or workout before or after work, I’m willing to bet that you DO have the time to adjust your schedule for something simple, like a 15 minute outdoor walk or an at home YouTube workout.
I know it can be tempting to compare yourself to the people you follow on social media that have a perfectly scheduled exercise regime and fall into the all or nothing mentality, but trust me when I say: something is better than nothing.
The key is finding and committing to an exercise routine that works for YOU and know that your nutrition and exercise regimens may not always see eye to eye.
Sometimes you may find that you really only have time to prioritise your nutrition and that’s okay!
While it does help to have consistent exercise to assist your nutrition, don’t force or put pressure on yourself to have a perfect exercise routine that you follow daily.
Instead, focus on implementing what you can and the rest will follow!
3. Sleep
Most of us have been taught from a very young age how important sleep is for our health.
It’s the reason you probably had an early bedtime as a child, why your parents were upset if you missed curfew as a teen, and is also why you felt so crummy after pulling all nighters to study in university.
Sufficient and quality sleep is essential for your optimal health and wellbeing because sleep is what allows the body to repair and rejuvenate itself!
Without quality (and consistent) sleep, your energy is low, your brain can't function at its optimal capacity, and you’re more prone to sickness.
Sleep is one of those things that easily gets sacrificed when you let busyness take over and it’s another slippery slope that can be extremely hard to bounce back from.
When you’re sleep-deprived the hormones that affect your appetite and satiety are in disarray and this can lead to the consumption of more lower quality foods (hand in the cookie jar if you know what I mean!).
Additionally, there is thought to be a role of certain dietary patterns and foods in getting a better sleep, so this means your nutrition actually impacts your sleep and not just the other way around.
So, while it may seem like staying up later to complete your to-do list is the answer, choosing to log off early and maintain a sleep schedule that allows for 7-9 hours of sleep each night is actually going to be the thing that allows you to be MORE productive, along with eating nutritious meals.
Overall, when you let your body rest, you also let it refuel so you can tackle your busy schedule with a clear mind and fresh energy each day.
4. Stress Management
Stress is like the sister to busyness and you rarely have one without the other.
Regardless of what type of busy you are, whether it be from work life, home life, parent life or personal life, stress tends to follow and it can be extremely difficult to kick if you're not intentional about it.
What many people don’t realise is that stress doesn't just magically go away. Your body holds on to stress until you manage it properly, which is why many people experience the negative effects of stress overtime.
These negative effects often start small and fairly simple and may show up in the form of:
sleep disturbances
headaches
decreased productivity
problems with learning and retaining information
back and neck pain
If your stress becomes chronic and you leave it unattended, these problems could grow much bigger and include:
cardiovascular issues, such as high blood pressure and increased heart rate
weakened immune system that leads to infections and illnesses with prolonged recovery times
digestive issues, such as diarrhoea, constipation and IBS
Weight gain
Infertility
The hard truth to accept as a business owner or high achieving individual is that you can’t out work stress and if you let your “busy badge” continue to control your life, you will eventually be forced to slow down.
To avoid that, I encourage you to adopt an effective stress management technique that works best for you so you can get and stay ahead of this key part of your health!
A few options include:
regular exercise – again, this can be as simple as a 15 minute walk
relaxation techniques – such as meditation or deep breathing exercises
engaging in hobbies or activities that bring you joy
spending intentional time with your friends and family
practicing time management by setting a schedule that involves strict working and not working times
adopting a healthy diet and planning nutritious meals – and if the thought of this adds more stress for you, getting professional help could be a great solution!
5. Social Connection
Lastly, social connection and relationships.
Numerous studies have shown that social connections and relationships have a significant impact on your overall health.
Maintaining strong social connections can help reduce the risk of mental health issues such as depression and anxiety, enhance immune function, lower the risk of chronic diseases, and even contribute to a longer lifespan.
Many of us don’t realise this deep impact of social connection and relationships in various parts of our life, which is why we often let connection fall to the bottom of our priority list when we get busy.
When your calendar is already jam packed, it’s hard to imagine adding anything else to your plate like a date night or dinner with friends, but it’s clear that socialisation isn’t just a luxury that you do when you “have time.”
It’s truly a necessity that can provide emotional support, reduce stress levels, and provide a sense of belonging and purpose.
Overall, learning how to prioritise each of these pillars is key to a high quality of life, which is why it’s so important to pay attention to your body and recognise when you’re letting busyness win.
How To Prioritise Your Health as a Busy Business Owner
After learning about the 5 health pillars that directly impact your overall wellbeing, I know what you might be thinking…
“Steph, I REALLY don’t have the time to prioritise these things! I can’t imagine adding something else to my plate.”
And I hear you - I really do. This is something I hear quite often from clients and the first thing that I help people understand is the fact that your life isn’t going to change – busyness will always be there.
Like I mentioned earlier, it doesn’t matter what season of life you’re in, there will always be something that makes you feel “busy.”
It’s for that reason that you must learn how to prioritise at least ONE of those pillars into your life so that the other 4 can benefit naturally.
And the pillar that I recommend people start with is: nutrition!
Our bodies cannot function without food, so whether you’re busy or not, you’re naturally going to spend a portion of your mental load on what you’re going to eat each day.
If you don’t meal prep a healthy lunch, you’ll still have to decide where you’re going to get take out. If you don’t eat a satiating breakfast, you’ll still have to decide what snack you’ll get from the vending machine.
The decision around food is STILL there, so wouldn’t you rather pre-decide that you’re going to use this mental energy to make decisions that benefit other parts of your life?!
At up_statuss, it’s my goal to help you do just that with ease.
1:1 Intensive Program
Need a Hand With Your Health?
Through highly customised plans and 1:1 work, I help busy people just like you to free up some of this mental load, so you can stay in your zone of genius while still knowing that you're fuelling your body well so you can thrive in life!
Together we work to figure out the best solution for YOU, so that I can slide into your life seamlessly – NOT be another hurdle that you have to manage.
Our programs are highly bespoke and very tailored to your given situation and evolve as your life changes, because I fully believe that nutrition should be something that easily flows into your life (regardless of your season) instead of being something you have to constantly overhaul.
If you’re currently in a place where these health pillars feel neglected (or non-existent) in your life, I’d love to connect with you and learn more about your personal situation so we can see what you need specifically.
