Self care - good for business or not?

Yesterday afternoon, I had to do something I loathe doing. I had to cancel a few meetings with less than two hours notice. This stuffs the other person around and is so damn irksome.

I know. It happens to me all the time. I carefully plan my work week in advance, so I can manage the work. When someone cancels on me at the last moment or doesn't show, it upsets my well constructed apple cart.

And...then I did it to other people.

While it's annoying and inconvenient, I had to.

We bang on about self care, like we're all drummers in a marching band, but do we practice it? Or is it just another catch phrase we roll out, pretending that how other people feel matters? Especially if their self care impacts what we are doing.

Growing a new business is A LOT of work. It's not just about delivering a skilllset; it's all the other things no one tells you about.

Development systems and processes

Doing the admin and finances

Managing the growing team

Marketing and promotion

Over the past six months, our Audacious team realised that if we wanted to kick our goals out of the park, we had to get organised. As Lauren says, we are building the boat while sailing it. When we teamed up, it was like two families coming together with 2 toasters, 10 sets of sheets and three crockery sets. We have had to find a way to meld it together and discard what we don't need, simultaneously delivering our services. We're told to start with the end in mind, but anyone who has started a business knows there is a big difference between what we should do and what we have to do.

This is not ideal, but as a start-up small business, it is what you have to do until you can bring others aboard to share the load.

Right now, we are in the messy growth phase, learning as we go. It is full on - exciting, but also exhausting. We hit 2023 running, and our team is firing on all cylinders. Yet, it's not sustainable. This is where self care comes in.

I hesitated about writing this, because last time I hit the wall, I openly shared how I was feeling. I lost three clients who all messaged me, saying they could no longer work with me for whatever BS reason they gave. But I knew it was because they thought I wasn't going to deliver. If there is one thing I pride myself on, it's delivering the work, even if it means getting up at 5am and working 12 hour days. I don't want to let people down and do my best to not.

As someone who stood in the wrong line when they gave out good health, I've learnt to manage the chronic illnesses that have been part of most of my life. I've invested in my health to minimise the impact on others and me. Sometimes, it takes me longer to get things done - some people are understanding, while others see this as a weakness. I've learnt there are many unforgiving people out there who have no room for others to be human.

But let's face it. None of us are perfect. Things come up. Kids get sick. We get sick. Meetings run late. Urgent things have to be actioned. We make mistakes. We stuff up. Yep, even the 'perfect' people.

Yesterday, after 4 weeks of back-to-back meetings, oodles of writing and all the other demands on my time, I had enough. I hit the wall. I cried from sheer exhaustion. As I looked at the two meetings I still had to do, I knew I wasn't serving myself or the people I was meeting with if I pushed through. I lay on my bed with the intention of taking 30 minutes out. Instead, I dropped into a deep sleep, waking 2 hours later.

As I sat composing my 'sorry, but I can't' email, I pondered how honest I should be (having experienced being dropped for being too honest). I could have given some vanilla or bullshit reason, but I didn't. I explained how hard I'd been working, that I had nothing left to give yesterday and needed to stop.

I could have pushed through. It's what I am good at. I didn't want to, because that's a slippery slope to burnout and overwhelm. Been there, done that, got the shirt and teaspoon. I listened to my body. While I inconvenienced others, I had to look after me.

This morning, I am back at my desk at 5am because there is so much to get done. But I feel calmer, rested and back in control.

The more we talk about self care and practice it, the more we give others permission to care for themselves, the more productive we will be, and the happier we will be.

While it is annoying when someone cancels on you, it is not the end of the world. In fact, I revel in those moments because it gives me space to get other things done, or like yesterday, time to listen to my body and do the right thing by it.?