Our guest blogger this week is Georgie Higton. Georgie is a mindfulness teacher, mindful well-being and grief coach based in Hurstpierpoint. She has trained with renowned mindfulness teachers with a clinical background within the NHS, with CRUSE Bereavement Support and she is also part of the bereavement team at a local hospice. Georgie is launching Saturday morning mindfulness sessions at HurstWorks this autumn – read on to find out more and see how incorporating mindfulness into your life could be the best thing you can do for yourself!
How do Solopreneurs look after number one?
When I talk to solopreneurs about looking after themselves they often say ..
“I do want to but it never seems to happen”
“It’s a nice idea but in reality…”
“Life’s too busy”
“Mindfulness, yes I love a bit of yoga!”
“And then end up talking about all the demands of working for yourself.”
What do you risk if you don’t prioritise yourself physically and mentally?
As a solopreneur myself I know the pressures of running my own business and keeping pace with a busy family life. It’s not easy, there can be a million demands and emotions in one day.
When you’re self employed there isn’t a senior leader looking out for you or an HR department offering well-being opportunities. It’s down to you to care for yourself, to demonstrate good self-leadership, to be in control of what you know to be best for you, your business and, ultimately, your life.
If you’re experiencing the physical signs of worry, low mood, lack of concentration and irritability, don’t ignore them. Perhaps is tension in the shoulders, headaches, tightness in the chest. Whatever the signs, this is vital information your brain and body is giving you to SLOW DOWN, TAKE NOTICE AND TAKE ACTION.
Rather than just ploughing on, take steps to stay well and prevent illness.
It is expected that 1 in 6 people will experience depression in their life time
The research is clear. It shows that in these post pandemic times of competing worries, cost of living concerns, intense geo-political concerns, hybrid working and always being ‘on’ with our tech, the negative effects on our mental health is soaring.
But you already know this, so what would make the difference in taking positive action for your own long term self care?
What caught my interest was embarking on a TRAINING OF THE MIND, learning a set of skills that I could access at any time. I liked the idea of becoming more self-reliant.
As I learnt more, I realised that mindfulness is a robust, science backed set of skills which can help resilience, reduce propensity for stress and burnout, aid concentration and much, more. The research shows that over time it changes your brain…for the better!
Just 10 mins a day can show an improvement in attention, concentration and memory
So what’s not to like?!
When I work with clients, the value that is found in ringfencing 30-45 mins once a week to talk and then to practice mindfulness skills is enormous. Translating these practices into micro practices that can be easily accessed for work and life is even more useful.
In very simplistic terms, the power is in learning to use the breath to reconnect with the body, mind and environment in any moment and interpret this feedback into action for personal self-care.
Ultimately, looking after your own health means you’re looking after the health of your business, your employees, your families and friends. As luck would have it, research shows that the more we practice self care the greater our propensity to look after others as well.
It’s a win win!
Join us for Mindfulness sessions on Saturday morning
Georgie is launching Saturday ‘Sunshine’ mindful relaxation sessions here at HurstWorks on Saturday mornings, from 9-10am.
Whether you’d like to simply pause and relax or you’re transitioning through difficult times, these relaxation session will be supportive and nourishing, creative and fun. You can book a place directly on the Time for the Mind website.
Here’s what one of her recent clients has to say:
“The hours spent on mindfulness with Georgie has been life changing in a few short weeks. Her healing voice, her strong empathy and brilliant understanding of her practice has made such a huge difference to my life already. I can feel a better understanding of past patterns and how this can show up at work. I feel a new me appearing into the light. Can highly recommend.”
Top tips for self care:
The good news is that beginning a simple regime of self-care can be easy to begin. By bringing more awareness to the nature of your working day, small steps can be built in.
Here are 10 micro self care tips to generate more awareness in your working day:
- Taking a brief walk before or to work
- Getting boundaried with work hours, beginning at 9am and ending at 6pm
- Establishing a workable method for completing tasks, that isn’t overwhelming
- Taking a 30 sec pause to check-in with yourself, how am I and how’s the day going?
- A short lunch break
- Switching off noisy alerts on your phone and the swoosh of emails
- Blocking out diary time just for planning and thinking, no meetings
- What feedback is the body giving you about your work – is tension creeping in?
- Build in some movement – make coffee, take a stretch, look out the window
- Huge pat on the back for keeping your health in mind!
If you’d like to find out more about Georgie, check out her website. We look forward to welcoming you at our Saturday sessions!
1 comment
Rob Fisher
This is a really great article on a super-important topic. Thank you Georgie!