How do you shut it down?

For business owners, it’s easy to get sucked into the vortex of non-stop work.

Or pretending to have down time, but ultimately, using that time to sneak in some work stuff.

We get in our silos, and go for hours, ignoring our self-care in the process.

For some, this decision leads to issues that have long-lasting, negative effects on your health and well-being.

Recently, I took stock in how I was handling my health.

The inspiration for this self-audit was because I had a jump scare of a health issue myself - one that ultimately turned out fine, but the situation opened my eyes.

I realized I was dropping the ball on my health.

I’d monopolize my attention towards work - the photography work and the coaching program I’m working on - and have little desire to turn it off.

All the while, I felt like I wasn't doing enough, which exacerbated the issue, and led to me leaning in even harder.

Including waking up in the middle of the night to obsess over decisions that needed to be made.

This health issue I experienced forced me to do something that I haven’t done too much in the past 8 years…

Pause.

During that pause, the conclusion I came to was that rather than trying to steamroll and hustle through every single day, I needed to pick spots to slow down the pace and take time to just shut it all down.

One way that I’ve achieved this goal is by taking long walks daily.

I put on my sneakers, grab headphones and put on music, head out of my apartment, pick a direction and go.

No agenda.

It’s all about getting in my steps, and that’s it.

Rather than turning this experience into an opportunity to discover a work-related breakthrough, I focus more on the appreciation of seeing different parts of the neighborhood, people-watch and getting fresh air while being present in the moment.

It’s that simple. And it’s that good.

Pairing this lifestyle change with some other health-related tweaks, I’ve noticed a significant change to my overall mood and outlook on life.

Who knew that something so simple would have such a profound effect, but here we are.

I’m glad I have so many pairs of New Balance’s - the daily miles I’m logging would completely wear a pair out in a month!

Over to you…

How do you shut it down and create space away from the work? Share it in the comments below.