You're juggling high-pressure client demands. How can you ensure self-care remains a priority?

For me, its wake up earlier and meditate longer. As the Zen saying goes.. "You should sit in meditation for 20min every day, unless you're busy, then sit for an hour" ~ Zen proverb It's a MUST when I have client-facing workshops or coaching sessions, and works every time ??

When you are juggling a lot of balls, I like to think the Nora Roberts attitude to this - partially because we should take more advice from romance authors. When she was asked about balancing between kids and writing, she said that the key to balancing was to determine the kind of balls you are juggling: Some of them are plastic, some of them are glass. Know the difference. Know which balls - for you - are glass, and which ones - for you - are plastic. Prioritize accordingly.

Man darf nie vergessen, dass es den anderen um uns herum nur dann gut geht, wenn es uns selbst gut geht. Das gilt beruflich wie privat. Wenn ich gestresst bin, reagiert mein Umfeld automatisch ebenfalls gestresst. Daher ist Selbstfürsorge so wichtig.

When too many tasks are thrown at you simultaneously, your inborn stress system will react and you will get all sorts of symptoms including a lack of focus. To avoid falling too deep into the wrong direction, it is good to have a template of the Eisenhower model at your desk and immediately put things, as they come in, in the "right box" on the template. The 4 boxes are 1) urgent and important, 2) urgent but not important, 3) not urgent but important, and 4) not urgent and not important. With this in place, you can do one task at a time, picking them one-by-one from the list as the day goes on. At the end of the day, you can decide on the remaining tasks - set them up for the next day, or outsource them, or even take them off.

I agree with the point: schedule specific work hours and communicate them to clients, making it clear when you're available and when you're off-duty. In my experience is important to prioritize tasks, delegating when possible, and avoid overcommitting. Incorporate regular breaks into your day to recharge, even if it’s just a quick walk or mindfulness exercise. Set aside time for personal activities that nourish your well-being. Protect your time by learning to say "no" to unrealistic demands, and regularly assess your workload to prevent burnout. Remember, maintaining your well-being enables you to deliver better results in the long run.

In my experience setting boundaries is especially important if you are either the type to try to please everyone, or the type to get excited about everything. Sometimes you need to have boundaries for your own excitement, too; no matter how inspiring a task, you still inhabit a body that needs food, rest, sunlight and sleep.

Wir müssen nicht immer sofort springen, wenn ein Kunde ruft. Meine ehemaliger Chef sagte einmal ?Wir operieren nicht im offenen Herzen“. Die Erwartungshaltung bezüglich Reaktionszeit hat sich in den letzten Jahren enorm verschlimmert. Schuld daran sind wir aber oft selbst. Besprechen Sie daher auch einmal mit ihrem Vorgesetzten, wie schnell sie wirklich auf Kundenanfragen reagieren müssen und normalisieren Sie den Reaktionsstress. Auf diese Weise kann man getrost auch einmal das Handy nach Feierabend oder am Wochenende/im Urlaub zur Seite legen, ohne schlechtes Gewissen.

During a particularly demanding project, I noticed that I was constantly responding to client emails and calls late into the night. This started to take a toll on my mental health and overall well-being. I decided to set clear boundaries by establishing specific work hours and communicating them to my clients. I made it clear that I would be available for urgent matters but otherwise would respond during the next business day. This not only gave me the space I needed to unwind after work but also helped my clients respect my time. As a result, I felt more refreshed and was able to deliver better results without compromising my well-being.

If you feel like you cannot delegate tasks, take a moment to consider why you feel like you cannot trust your team. Is this lack of trust earned, or is it rooted in fear? Giving people responsibility often yields commitment and dedication. Try it - even if it is scary!

Viele Menschen tun sich schwer, mit Delegieren, weil das Ergebnis m?glicherweise hinterher anders ist, als wenn man es selbst machen würde. Die Frage ist: ist es schlechter oder kann man trotzdem damit leben? Alles selbst machen zu müssen, ist einfach ein riesen Zeitfresser.

In one of my most challenging projects, I was overwhelmed by the sheer volume of tasks that needed to be done. I realized I couldn’t do it all by myself without sacrificing my health, so I started delegating more tasks to my team. I invested time in training them and ensured they understood the expectations. Delegating tasks allowed me to focus on critical aspects of the project while also freeing up time for self-care. This not only reduced my stress levels but also empowered my team members, who appreciated the trust I placed in them. The project was a success, and I was able to maintain a healthy work-life balance throughout.

Some time we think this is high-pressure client demand but actually it is not. When we start working with any client we have to decide the scope and timeline with our experience and the mindfulness is a habit we have to practice it daily, if we have time to do all our daily unavoidable task then add Mindfulness activities in your daily routine. After sometime it will become our habit. Also go with scheduling so that we can understand your day priority.

Yes! When we create that mental space through mindfulness, we're not just calming ourselves—we're opening up a world of insight. By setting aside our own worries, we can tune into the underlying currents driving client pressure. This clarity allows us to respond with precision and confidence, addressing the real needs at hand rather than reacting to surface-level stress. It's like stepping back from a tangled knot to see the whole picture. Suddenly, we're not just managing stress; we're transforming the entire dynamic. Clients feel heard and supported, our work becomes more focused and impactful, and we are operating from a place of strength rather than strain. The beautiful ripple effect begins with a simple moment of mindful presence.

In the middle of stress we often would need and benefit from mindfulness more than ever, and yet in the middle of stress, mindfulness and meditation can often be hard to do. My advice would be to start small. If you feel like you cannot meditate for fifteen minutes, start with five. If you cannot start with five because you feel too overwhelmed, start with one. Work your way up.

During a particularly chaotic period, I found myself constantly stressed and anxious about meeting client expectations. I decided to incorporate mindfulness practices into my daily routine. I started with simple breathing exercises and gradually added short mindfulness sessions during breaks. These practices helped me stay grounded and present, allowing me to approach tasks with a clearer mind. By reducing my stress levels through mindfulness, I was able to maintain high performance under pressure and felt more in control of my workload.

Mindfulness is a highly proven wisdom tool / practice across any situation. While Juggling between tasks with the short attention span and hand always ready to press the panic button, bringing back the attention, focus, to make better decisions mindfulness practice is a 10 on 10 on the stress management scale. It calms the nervous system from hitting the panic button, realigns the focus , normalizes the heart and breath rate. If done even for a few minutes it has calming effect physically and mentally. It boosts productivity and keeps cortisol under check. Mindfulness is the most simplest tool that can be done whether at office or home or at any social gathering. Breath /focus any one sense like visual, audio on any object/ sound around.

Something most of us (myself included) learn the hard way is that once your health is gone, you cannot buy it back. You can repair some of the damage, perhaps, if you are lucky, but your health may never recover if it takes a bad enough hit. Take care of your body and life, because you only get one. This is a long topic that should be further elaborated on, but as the world spins faster, the ability for high-quality rest and recovery becomes a winning trait.

Ern?hrung und Bewegung sind wichtige Bausteile in einer gesunden Lebensweise. Fatalerweise leiden diese Bereiche oft im Stress. Dann kommt es zu einem negativen Kreislauf: wir haben Stress, ern?hren uns schlechter, bewegen uns weniger und die Stressauswirkungen machen sich noch st?rker bemerkbar. Durchbrechen Sie diesen Kreislauf und achten Sie auf sich. Wir haben nur dieses eine Leben!

Taking good care of yourself is the basis of a good and less stressed life. This is where you get the energy to do all the things you want to do in life. You can′t buy energy and you can't get it from someone else, you have to generate it yourself It is about sleep, eating, and exercise. All these want regularity, we even have built-in clocks in our brains to help us get this right. So, start following your internal clocks, do the work and build your best, happiest, and most prosperous life

I once went through a phase where my workload was so heavy that I neglected my physical health. I was skipping meals, losing sleep, and not exercising. Eventually, this took a toll on my energy levels and productivity. Realizing the impact, I made a conscious effort to prioritize my health. I started meal prepping, set a consistent sleep schedule, and made time for regular exercise, even if it was just a quick walk during lunch. By nurturing my physical health, I noticed a significant improvement in my stress levels and overall performance. My energy was up, and I was better equipped to handle the demands of my clients.

To stay on top of your work - and health - you need to reflect on your doings from time to time. One great way to help your mind is to reflect at least once a week on what/where/why etc you are in your business and life. Then you can see if you need to course-correct or if you are on track. Making notes at these moments will also help you (your brain) to keep track over time. These notes may also be your gold in the future for following the development of things.

I’ve learned that regular reflection is crucial in managing stress and maintaining self-care. After a particularly hectic week, I took some time to reflect on what worked and what didn’t in managing my workload and stress. This reflection led me to adjust my approach, like setting more realistic goals and recognizing when I needed to take breaks. Over time, this practice of regular reflection has helped me fine-tune my self-care strategies, ensuring that I stay balanced and effective, even during the most demanding projects. Celebrating small wins, like successfully sticking to my self-care routine, also kept me motivated to continue prioritizing my well-being.