Fitness Is Important For Health, But It’s Critical For Your Business Too

Being an entrepreneur in today's aggressive business setting is no simple task as it requires hectic schedules that could entail extensive travelling and long hours. For those who monetise on their passion, the lifestyle of entrepreneurship can often take a mental and physical toll on their bodies. Managing one's time implies working around the clock, which makes it challenging for some entrepreneurs to fit the right amount of sleep and proper fitness training into their booked schedules. Three founders explain why fitness is necessary:

How can a founder of a business look after themselves?

Sonal Agrawal, the founder of the Pink Peppercorn blog, believes that it is imperative to look after oneself. She realises that there are a million deadlines; however, staying organised is one way of keeping things in balance. “I am a person who is not very organised, which takes an additional toll on my health. So, I make sure that at least my food and my workout routine is not compromised. I work out every day, and I eat on time and take excellent care of my skin and follow a proper skincare routine,” Sonal said.

“When you take care of yourself, your business will be taken care of by default!”

The founder of mom flair, Bhakti Kotwal truly understands the importance of looking after oneself, personally as well as professionally. Her most effective mantra is “be away from negative vibes & people,” that solves most of her daily issues by default. She dedicates some “Me time” for herself to stay fresh and happy and in return, be able to keep her business & family in cheerful tones.

As the founder of the site, meotherwise, Ramya Ramachandran feels fitness is crucial for two reasons. One, considering that she spends long hours on the laptop making notes, writing and reading, she often suffer from pain in her shoulders and lower back. Overcoming this is vital if she needs to work efficiently as well as do other things around the home and in her social life. Second, as she writes and needs to pen down thoughts, it is important to have a relaxed and positive frame of mind. For this, she practices yoga, an intensive one-hour long morning session.

Also Read: Why India Needs To Nurture Its Women Entrepreneurs

How should one take care of their mental health?

“In terms of mental health, I do make sure I get enough sleep no matter what. I do not work very late in the night and make sure that I sleep on time and wake up early, which gives me enough rest,” said Sonal.

She further added that she believes in living in the moment, so she is not someone who worries much about the future or for that matter, even the past. If there has been a bad day, she focuses more on what she can do and makes the most of what's coming and the present.

Sonal explains that setting unrealistic targets also does not help one's mental health. “I believe in taking one day at a time, and it is the only way that a person or a founder of a firm can ensure sanity. Set achievable goals, make a plan and organise your time,” she adds. She has learnt from experience that the delegation of work is essential. Being a micromanager takes a toll on one's health and gives stress. Therefore she has slowly developed this ability to delegate work.

“Yoga works on my mental health. Pranayama is my one-stop solution to calm my mind, ease stress and also gets my brain thinking”

Bhakti believes that being away from negativity and trying to be around positive people is what keeps one's mental balance. “It is also very important to be happy with what you have chosen in life to be and be mentally fit and keep others happy around you. Some fresh air & meditation keeps me close to being mentally fit, and pushes one to have a wide perspective and positive attitude,” she further adds.

“Yoga works on my mental health. Pranayama is my one-stop solution to calm my mind, ease stress and also gets my brain thinking,” says Ramya.

Also Read: Women Share Fitness Goals, And They Aren’t About Being Size Zero

Sharing fitness tips with aspiring women entrepreneurs

Taking care of oneself

Sonal advises aspiring women entrepreneurs to take care of their body and make sure they rest as well as work out. She suggests setting aside dedicated time for workout from the beginning. “If you take care of yourself, and you are happy with the image you have built and feel good about it that is when you will be more productive. The confidence level you will have will be on a different scale,” she explains.

Meanwhile, Bhakti shares some advice given by her father, who always says, “if you strive to be physically fit, your mental, emotional and sentimental fitness follows automatically.” And she thinks it to be true. Hence, her simple tip is “When you take care of yourself, your business will be taken care of by default!”

“In terms of mental health, I do make sure I get enough sleep no matter what. I do not work very late in the night and make sure that I sleep on time and wake up early, which gives me enough rest”

A healthy diet and proper sleep

“Skipping meals and not sleeping enough as we are over-ambitious about the exciting things happening, is surely not going to help in the long run. It starts affecting your health, and if you don't have your health, you don't have anything. You can't do as much and achieve the goals you set out for,” Sonal says.

Fitness regime

Furthermore, Ramya adds that fitness is as essential as eating and sleeping. Keeping one's early mornings to themselves before the routine starts is necessary. Moreover, choosing a form of fitness that suits one's body type and being regular with the fitness activity one chooses is as important.

Also Read: Nutritionist Rujuta Diwekar Gives Health Advice To Women Of All Ages

Saumya Rastogi is an intern with SheThePeople.TV