5 check-ins we entrepreneurs should try *on the daily*

Running a small business is as much a mental game as it is physical, emotional, & (YES!) even environmental. It’s a must to take good care of ourselves - and very easy to burn out, slip down a slope, or lose focus if we don’t arm ourselves with tools to fight the overwhelm. Here are a few tricks I have up my sleeve to stay positive, hustle on a doable level, and avoid burnout. Hope these help! If they have, or you’d like more tips - catch us on Instagram! We’d love to connect and hear your story.

1/ Spiritual

Your spiritual side is hopefully driving your heart-center’s motivation, and in our opinion, is deserving of a full scan each and every day. This is usually grounded in your values as not only an individual but also as a brand.

A few questions to spark this check-in…

1. What sparks joy for you in this business?

2. How is that element showing up for you, every day?

3. When was the last time you…

4. Crushed it?

5. Had F-U-N?

6. Felt fulfilled/accomplished/grateful/blessed?

These answers can often help you find areas that may be breaking the foundations in your overall wellness.

If you’re a little “woo-woo” like we are, this is where we employ our mantras, rituals, manifest journaling, chakra alignment practice, breathwork, prayer, meditation, deep yoga, crystal healing, sound baths, massage, plant therapies, and much more - they are not only relaxing and enjoyable but can also all play into healing and maintaining a spiritual balance that can help you flourish in many areas of your business.

2/ Physical

This is hilariously naive, but when I was in college studying at Auburn, I never really considered how much I would be SITTING when I chose design as my career. It was only when I got my first 9-5 that my butt started to feel numb at work and I knew I had to schedule several breaks in my workday.

Here’s what helped for me:

1. Stand up, walk around your space, and stretch every hour on the hour while at your desk. (1-3 mins)

2. Take the pups for a walk once a day - preferably anytime you feel tired. (15 mins)

3. No coffee after 1pm.

4. Take any meeting you can outside in nature.

5. Block off and protect time in your day to raise your heartbeat. Whether that’s replenishing yoga, going for a bike ride, long walk around the block, or a more intense gym session - let it be around 30-60 mins and protect it like your most important meeting of the day.

6. Find a yoga studio, chiropractor, and massage therapist you love. Get to them at least once a month.

7. If it’s available, try a standing desk. This takes a little while to get used to, but it can be a game-changer!

3/ Time

I often find that unless I record every minute of my day with my time tracker, I can lose my sense of time to the point where I’ve only billed 3 hours of my day, and haven’t found where the additional 5+ have gone. It’s heartbreaking! But what I’ve learned is to protect and limit my time to 15, 30, 60 minute intervals to help keep a clear perspective. You can always create more of almost every other resource, but time is NOT coming back to you - keep it on close guard!

Here are a few things that have worked for me:

1. I have a planner that divides my day into hour blocks from 6 am to 10pm, as well as Freshbooks, which tracks my billable and non-billable hours.

2. Every morning, I block out my top three projects (usually by the time of day my clients and I can sync up as well as finding a good “flow state”) and also an hour for my workout.

3. I have only TWO 30 minute intervals to take care of “admin” which is checking emails, replying, bookkeeping, etc. Other than that - I try my damndest to stay OUT of my email, social platforms, texts, etc - anything that can distract from getting my top three done.

4. Once my top three client tasks, workout, and admin that were absolutely necessary are finished for the day, that’s when I get to continuing progress on all the things in waiting.

Here’s the thing… in entrepreneurship, things can come way off the rails in an instant. Impromptu meetings - little emergencies - kids need to be picked up sick from school - just the intertwining of life and work kind of stuff. The systems you develop are there to protect you in making progress and that’s the only way we can grow + keep forward momentum.

4/ Priorities

I have been a long term subscriber of the top 3, every morning.
But! I also go a little further and develop a top 3 for 3 : )

Here’s how it works…
I create a top-three priority list for 1) My clients 2) My own business & 3) My self care
HOLY MOLY you may be thinking - three things of self-care each day??!?! Where can I find that time? But here’s the thing - self-care can come in tiny doses.

Here’s a quick list of 5 things you can do for yourself in under 5 minutes or less to show yourself some love:

1) Brew a fresh cup of tea or coffee
2) Stand up & twist / stretch / dance — find any movement that feels good
3) Swap out your desk crystals
4) Journal 5 things you’re proud of yourself for lately
5) Quick meditation — and this can be anywhere! Just focus on your breathing.

See? It’s SO simple and SO worth it. Just be sure to focus on yourself during these moments and set a time limit if you can to stay on task for the day.

5/ Long Term Goals

I know this sounds strange, but it’s been evident to me that when your business has a “you before me” style structure (especially found in service-based businesses) you have to be sure you’re keeping your long-term, big picture goals at the top of your list and give yourself time to work toward your own goals - just as you do for your clients.

At the core, a goal needs a plan, and if your daily priorities aren’t aiming to accomplish your goals, you’re not getting anywhere, right? What’s worked for me in this aspect is to keep my quarterly goals at the top of my to-do list, every single day. I rewrite them over and over to instill a force of intrinsic motivation, clarity, and focus. Then the rest of my day is engineered toward an end result.

One of my favorite ways to get on track with my goals is to have a “stand-up meeting” with my studio mates in front of our vision boards. I take a moment to reflect on the visuals, then re-read my plans, then openly chat about where I’m stuck or how I can improve progress. Having the board in front of me always brings the dreams to life and keeps me inspired to reach higher.

how do you check in?

These are just a few tips I have picked up after working 15+ years in the design and client management universe. Do you have a check-in you need daily, monthly, or quarterly? I’d love to hear! Drop a comment below.

Sending love, Court