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For every entrepreneur, the internal conversation that attempts to strike a balance between enjoyment and production can be discouraging. It’s difficult to find time for oneself when you work long hours and are under a lot of stress.
It can seem like giving up work is the only way to have more fun, and giving up fun is the only way to do better at work. However, there are ways to have the best of both worlds, regardless of how imprisoned you may feel. Here are ten strategies for having fun and lowering stress levels without having to worry about sacrificing productivity.
- Engage in heightened presence exercises.
Being present is one of the key components of living a more fulfilling life. You can fully appreciate the benefits of a situation when you allow yourself to be totally absorbed in it. On the other hand, even time that is meant to be relaxing is not really joyful if your thoughts are on work when you are out with friends.
Being present is a really difficult skill, but the secret is to be able to focus. You can strive for higher degrees of presence with the use of breathing techniques, meditation, and mindful thought awareness. With practice, you’ll get better over time.
- Seek out chances for shared experiences.
We do a lot of things every day that would allow us to incorporate other people. However, we frequently decide against it because it seems like work or causes some other minor annoyance. Consider how frequently you go out alone to dine, work out, or watch sports.
Sending a brief SMS to see if someone wants to participate in an activity just takes a few seconds. By sending that SMS, you may share that moment with someone and accomplish two goals at once: you get to see someone you like and do something you’ve been looking forward to, which makes both of those things even more enjoyable.
- Show your buddies a great deal of consideration.
In between meetings, errands, and sleep, friends are probably the only people you can find time for outside of work, your partner, and your family. That emphasizes the importance of choosing companions of high caliber.
Spending time with the individuals you surround yourself with should be enjoyable, therefore you should look for common interests and ideals. In addition to improving you as a person, your friendships should be reciprocal; you shouldn’t be making one-sided phone calls to your friend every day, and your friend shouldn’t be the only one inviting you to get together.
You’ll have more meaningful and memorable interactions with people when you have these relationships in your life, and you’ll feel better when you do kind things for your friends.
- Determine which recharging exercises are most effective for you.
There will undoubtedly be occasions when you need to rejuvenate. This might occur following a demanding workweek or at the conclusion of a particularly difficult endeavor.
The minor cost to consider your preferred recovery method is worthwhile. Your time will be directed toward the things that will provide the greatest energy return if you give careful consideration to the recharging activities that you find most effective. For some, it’s running; for others, it’s having a lengthy bubble bath. Finding what works best for you is crucial.
- Eat healthily and stay hydrated.
Your physical well-being is vital, even though it may not seem related to scheduling leisure time. Your energy levels will drop if you’re dehydrated or eating poor meals frequently, which is something that many entrepreneurs are known to do. As a result, every work or effort will be less joyful since you will be less present in each moment.
Therefore, you should locate food that will offer you energy and take the small amount of time to stay hydrated throughout the day. You’ll be able to enjoy each day much more when your body feels wonderful.
- Get enough sleep.
Sleep is an important component of physical health, along with eating a healthy diet and drinking plenty of water. You have the energy to face the day as your best self when you’ve gotten adequate sleep.
This entails doing what enhances the quality of your sleep, not just getting the bare minimum of hours to prevent tiredness. Your sleep will be much better if you wind down before bed, even for a short while. Reading is a terrific method to calm down without exposing your eyes and brain to bright lights. Investing on quality pillows, utilizing a sound machine, and keeping your room chilly can also have a significant impact.
- Engage in outdoor activities.
There are health benefits to being outside, and there are occasions when being outside is far more convenient than being inside. For instance, you may work from an outside coffee shop rather than your home office, have walking meetings at work, or take lunch in the park rather than in the office.
You will be happy if you choose to spend time outdoors: We become more relaxed and have better airflow when we are in nature, which motivates us to breathe deeply and take in more oxygen.
- Experiment.
It’s simple to fall into patterns and repeat the same actions repeatedly when we’re busy. It might be the foods we eat, the pastimes we select, or even the music we enjoy.
To avoid feeling stuck in a rut, encourage yourself to make changes to those decisions on a regular basis. In any case, you’ll be dining out or enjoying some music, so why not try something different? It will broaden your perspectives; at the very least, it will clear the cobwebs and enable fresh concepts to establish themselves in your subconscious. - Make time to push yourself.
You should not only try new things but also expose oneself to difficult circumstances. Despite the fact that it may sound exhausting, doing this will actually make you happier. We are totally focused on the task at hand when faced with difficult circumstances, such as competition. The sensation of “flow” and complete immersion offer a striking experience that motivates us to improve.
Along your life’s journey, challenges will arise; you simply need to be alert for the ones that are worthwhile. Something is worth taking a chance on if it piques your attention but makes you feel afraid.
- Focus on cultivating an optimistic outlook.
If your mind is in the correct place, every moment may be joyful. The most crucial thing to alter is our internal viewpoint, even though we can alter our external circumstances to a certain extent.
It will be simpler to identify opportunities in the weeds if you work on cultivating an optimistic outlook. You may develop a victim mentality if you tend to focus on the negative or feel sorry for yourself. However, instead of accepting things as they are, every successful businessman I’ve encountered has taken charge of his life and considered how he can make it better.
Striking a balance between work and play can be difficult, but it will pay off handsomely in terms of energy and happiness. Considering how you can intentionally improve your life can increase your productivity rather than decrease it.
