Raise your hands if it’s been ages since you’ve done something for yourself. I mean, not for your spouse, or to make the kids happy… but something that was just for you. I hear you, because I am in the exact same boat. That’s why I’m so excited to welcome Misty, from Misty Saves the Day as our fabulous guest blogger! She’s sharing about something we all struggle with: not taking time for ourselves.

Oh, business owner, I hear you.  I hear the struggle of not being able to step away from your desk because it’s 10 feet away from your bedroom.  I hear that it’s 11pm at night, and you’re typing away furiously to make sure that you’re Friday morning blog post goes up as expected.  I feel the pain of trying to project your income over the next three months and wondering if the success is temporary, or if your growth will kill you.

I hear you.

You know what else I hear?  I hear your kid asking you to snuggle them before bedtime.  I hear your other one spinning your desk chair around and reaching up to you with open arms asking you to pick them up so that they can “help” with your work.  I feel your pain when it feels like you haven’t left the house in three days, because you can’t get out from the mountain of e-mails that have flooded your inbox.  I see the look on your amazing husband’s face when he asks when you can have a date night again, because he misses you.

I hear you and I feel your pain.

As business owners, entrepreneurs, creative – whatever you want to label yourself – we are the absolute worst at taking care of ourselves, our families, our personal lives.  I’m not writing this post as someone who takes their own advice.  I’m writing this post to let you know that you’re not alone.  Sometimes, you have to step away.  Is your email inbox your to-do list and it just won’t stop? Who’s going to care if the response doesn’t happen until tomorrow morning?

Go.  Leave.  Leave your desk.  Right now.  Well, maybe after you’re done reading this blog post.  Is it a beautiful day?  Take an hour and go for a bike ride with your family, then come back to the work that you know needs to get done.  Don’t neglect your business, but certainly, don’t neglect yourself.  Don’t forget that you need “you” time, too.

I go get a massage once a month.  I work out a few times a week, just to get out of the house (and get my kids out of the house), and to make sure that I don’t become a desk potato.  Take a night out with your significant other, your friends.  Go on a date with your kids.

You don’t have to do all those things every week.  That would be insanity.  Carve out time each week so that you’ve got time to breathe, though.  It can be extraordinarily suffocating to own and run a business if you don’t make sure that you take care of yourself.  Whenever I schedule a meeting, particularly in the evenings when I know have opportunities to hang out with friends and family, I look at the rest of my week.  I try really hard to make sure that I’m home 3-4 nights a week, so I don’t miss family dinners, bath times, date nights, squad nights – whatever it may be.  We’re event professionals, so sometimes, that doesn’t happen, and I’m the first to admit it.

The importance is to try.  Recognize that not everything has to happen right now.  If you burn yourself out so hard that you burn up, all that hard work that you’ve put into your business and what you do will mean nothing – because you’ll just be done.  Your passion will turn to apathy and your support system will start to falter.

It’s why I do what I do.  I handle small business’ social media accounts and marketing so that they can take a step away, and I have employees to make sure that I do, too.  Create systems and strategies so you don’t spend your life typing away on a keyboard, behind a camera, or jumping from meeting to meeting instead of taking time for yourself.  If you don’t build your relationships, better yourself, and actually LIVE your life, well, what was the point?

Did this post resonate in your soul?

I hear you! If you are ready to take a few things off your to do list, contact Misty and let her company Misty Saves the Day help you put the emphasis back on what REALLY matters in your life!