Many WordPress freelancers work at home every day. While working from home has many benefits, there are also drawbacks.
Research from office supplies company Ergotron found that 40% of employees working from home worked longer hours than those in the office. Also, data from the National Bureau of Economic Research shows these extended workdays are, on average, about 48.5 minutes longer.
I suspect solopreneur freelancers put in even more work at home than remote employees. 🥱
As well as putting in more hours, we generally socialise less and make less time for regular exercise. Throw in a 3-year pandemic, which can severely impact our mental and physical health and boom – disaster!
In October, I was hanging with some dads after the school pickup. Our boys were happily playing in a small park near the school.
I heard one kid asking my boy who his dad was. The reply was… Well.. blunt!
Pointing at me, my boy said, “He’s the one with the fat belly!“.
There it was – the brutal, unfiltered truth from my 7yo.
Of course, I knew it myself, but I somehow thought that it would sort itself out or that if I ignored it, everyone else would.
I ballooned to 85kg over the past three years, which is very embarrassing to be recognised as the “fat dad”, especially by your own kid.
⚖️ I’m happy to say that last week I hit 70kg on the scales, well on the way to my target of 65kg for an ideal BMI.
It was the start of term 2, and while taking my kid back to school, several parents asked if I had lost weight. Positive reinforcement, indeed.
Now, I don’t usually talk about this kind of personal stuff (it’s embarrassing), but taking care of your physical and mental well-being is also essential to growing your business.
Most of us WordPress developers, designers, SEOists and copywriters are our businesses. We are business bosses. So, if we are not functioning correctly, how can we expect our businesses to do the same?
I feel much better physically and mentally than I did four months ago, and my energy and mental acuity have increased.
If you’re interested, here’s what is working for me just now:
- Reduced portion sizes (like by 50%)
- Calorie counting (I know this doesn’t work for everyone but it works for me)
- Dramatically reducing alcohol intake (weekends only)
- No/little carbs (no bread/pasta – but I have curry and rice on a Friday as a treat)
- High protein meals with salad and veg
- Replaced crisps with fruit as snacks
- No fried chicken “midnight” feasts 🍗(the hardest one)
- Intermittent fasting (from 6 pm to 9 am )
- Yoga (10 mins every morning)
- Walking (30 mins every day, when it’s not raining) ⛈️
I don’t think there’s a miracle cure for everyone. You have to tailor what works for you and your situation. A bit like running your own business.
Persistence is critical, though. I had to push through the first six weeks, which was a grim, sore, and hungry time.
If you find yourself in a similar situation, reassure yourself that if I can do it at 50 years young, you can do it too.
Take care of yourself. Take care of your business.
Talk later,
Wil.