6 Wellness Habits That Kept Me Sane While Scaling a Healthcare Startup

I have been asked to speak to a cohort of powerful women on how to stay sane as a cofounder. Rather than confine it to the women, I thought I might share this with you too.

As I write this, our team just celebrated reaching 56,000 lives covered across Kenya and surviving 2024. What a year! Professionally, and business-wise, that was probably one of the most challenging years. Yet in many ways it was also one of the most exhilarating. And yes, I have remained largely quiet about what I was doing because sometimes, you just have to disappear and go for your goals. I am grateful for our numbers. 56,000 lives is a milestone that reminds me of the countless late nights, challenging leadership meetings, almost ruthless focus, and relentless drive required to build CheckUps COVA. But scaling a healthcare startup in Africa while maintaining your well-being isn't just about hustle – it's about intentional habits that sustain you for the long haul.

Here are six wellness practices that have been my lifeline through this extraordinary journey:

1. Meditation & Prayer: The Sacred Hour

My relationship with meditation wasn't love at first sit. Like many entrepreneurs, I used to wear "busy" as a badge of honor. Then I read Robin Sharma's "The 5 AM Club" and everything changed. Now, my day begins at 5 AM with what I call my "Sacred Hour."

Twenty minutes of meditation using Joe Dispenza medications, or sounds of waves centers my racing mind. This is followed by prayer – not the rushed kind, but intentional communion that grounds me in purpose. I've found that these quiet moments before dawn are when our most innovative solutions often surface. Just last month, during one of these sessions, I had a breakthrough about how to restructure our training to support the over 300 freelance partners that we are working with to grow our network. Prayer has also covered my family, healed a broken heart and energized me for the future. No matter what your belief, there is something about submitting to a higher power, that given energy for a tough moment.

The science backs this up: regular meditation reduces cortisol levels and improves decision-making. In healthcare innovation, where lives and livelihoods literally depend on our choices, this mental clarity isn't just nice to have – it's essential.

2. Laser Focus: The New Currency

Daniel Goleman's work on emotional intelligence and focus in his book “The Power of Focus” transformed how I structure my days. In an age where attention is constantly fragmented, I've developed what I call my "Focus Framework":

- Identify what the real issue is, not the one presented to you. Leaders often get the packaged story, not the facts. Learn to root out the facts. Cut the story.

- Question everything that doesn’t make sense. Ask the unasked question, and keep asking until you get an answer that makes sense

- Do not be a solution provider: it cripples thinking.

- Find another way.

- Expect the unexpected. If it isn’t at work, it will be at home, in a relationship, with the kids, or the spouse or partner. Fix what can be fixed and quickly and effectively release what cannot be fixed.

- Speak up. Loudly and often.

- Manage your energy. Align complex tasks with natural energy peaks.

- Batch tasks. Group similar activities (emails, calls, reviews) into specific time blocks.

- Be wherever you need to be, not where you would prefer to be

- Do not take work to dinner or to bed with you.

- “No” is a statement of care. Use it to care for you and to empower your team.

The results? We've cut our decision-making time in half while improving the quality of our outcomes. Our meetings are progressively shorter, more relevant, and with better-quality information. We are not where I’d love for us to be, but we sure are not where we were when we first started. When you're trying to revolutionize healthcare financing in Africa, every minute of focused attention counts.

3. Laughter: The Best Medicine (Literally)

Running a healthcare company comes with immense responsibility. We're handling people's lives and financial wellbeing. But I've learned that maintaining joy is non-negotiable. Some of our best team moments came from moments of lightness.

- Friday leadership sessions where jumping jacks [and pizza] became the order of the day

- Monthly personal celebrations where dancing is mandatory

- A "Joke of the Day" tradition on my drive to work

- Spontaneous dance breaks in the bathroom after intense sessions [there… now colleagues know why I take so long in the bathroom]

These moments of levity haven't just improved team engagement; every time we have had them, they've created psychological safety that encourages innovation, honesty, and team work. [note to self, bring a speaker to the next team lead sessions]

4. Releasing What No Longer Serves You

This habit has been my hardest teacher. As a founder, letting go feels counterintuitive – isn't hustling harder the answer? But scaling requires ruthless prioritization:

- Delegating: I've learned to hand over many of the things I intuitively want to control

- Partnerships: We chose not to pursue some partnerships that weren't aligned with our vision or where synergies where malaligned. It wasn’t easy as they appeared very promising at the start. Letting them go however, gave bandwidth for other better, more beneficial partnerships to grow.

- Personal Boundaries: Setting non-negotiable family time [easier said than done]

- Perfectionism: Embracing "progress over perfection" and launching on the go.

- Digital Declutter: Regular purging of apps, emails, and digital commitments, especially, in my case, endless whataspp messages which I realized left me feeling anxious rather than refreshed or connected.

Each release created space for something better. When we declined a misaligned partnership last year, it freed up resources to develop our proprietary benefits algorithm.

5. The Outdoors: Nature's Board Room

At the start of the year, I had joined a hiking group, and I went on exactly ZERO hikes with them. Between work, family, and what appeared to be a budding relationship, I hardly squeezed time for myself.

What we did, however, is go out for golf very often with my co-founder. And it was very helpful. Many of the challenges experienced at work, a lot of the strategic thinking needed, and many, many decisions were made on the golf courses. Now, I know golf is not for everyone so choose your “poison”, - road trips, nyama sessions, korogas, and spend time with your cofounder and your team. It makes such a difference.

Towards the end of the year, I started hitting the hiking trails, going out of town, and finding trails in Nairobi. WOW!!! My head cleared. Karura Forest became my default meeting place. These hikes aren't just exercise – they are mobile strategy, marketing, and networking sessions. There's something about the combination of movement, nature, and solitude that unlocks creativity, and clarifies priorities. I’m still rubbish at golf, but what a difference, giving myself the luxury of 4-hours has made…

6. Sleep: The Ultimate Performance Enhancer

Arianna Huffington's wake-up call about sleep resonated deeply with me. After a particularly grueling quarter where I averaged 3-4 hours of disturbed sleep, my performance was, in my opinion, at least, not where I needed it to be. Now, sleep is my competitive advantage:

- 6-hour non-negotiable sleep window

- No screens 90 minutes before bed

- Blackout curtains and cool room temperature

- Regular sleep schedule, even on weekends

The impact has been profound: better decisions, more emotional resilience, and increased creativity.

These habits aren't just personal preferences – they're strategic investments in sustainable leadership. When you're working to transform healthcare financing and access for millions, you need more than just good business strategies. You need practices that sustain your energy, creativity, and humanity.

As we continue scaling CheckUps COVA across Africa, these wellness habits aren't luxury items – they're essential infrastructure for impact.

What wellness practices keep you grounded while pursuing ambitious goals? I'd love to hear your strategies in the comments below.

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