Now if you’re a small business owner and you’re reading the title thinking “she’s having a laugh…I’ve got no time to do all the things I want to do, let alone have a hobby”, let me tell you that I was in exactly the same position as you about a year ago.
I didn’t do hobbies. Even if I could think of something to do (which I couldn’t) I didn’t have time to do one – the business was so busy that I hardly had time to think, let alone take up something else.
And yet, something was happening. Although I was very busy with lots of clients, I got stressed very easily, was very tired and didn’t have as much energy as I wanted to. Talking this over with my business mentor one day, she asked me if I had any hobbies or what I did for fun – and to be honest, my reaction was pretty much what yours probably was on reading the title of this article.
But, she reminded me that relying on the business to bring me complete pleasure and joy all of the time was kind of like relying on just one person in a relationship to bring you everything you ever wanted – just not possible and unrealistic.
On the other hand if you have something else in your life to care about, to get excited about, to get annoyed and frustrated about when things go wrong, it takes your focus off the business, yes – but in a good way and allows you to forget about the business for a while and have a break.
Shockingly enough, when I tried this I actually found that I performed better in the business than when I didn’t have something else to focus on – a complete revelation to me. Since having the chat with my business mentor, I’ve:
1. Bought a house to let out
2. Got three chickens
3. Taking a cooking course at the local college
4. Do exercise three times a week
5. Do Sudoko and Picross on a regular basis
6. Read fiction again
7. And…I’m taking a holiday for the first time in 3 years
How cool is that?
Oh and it’s also given me the time to finish my book that I’m writing on “How to survive your first few years in business”. And I’m much less stressed now than I was a year ago.
Is it worth getting a hobby? Absolutely. I thoroughly recommend it. All I need to do is find a publisher for my book now…
Why you should have a hobby when you run your own business - To learn more about this author, visit Helen Dowling's Website.
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